Damaged
by moonlitXkunoichi
Summary: Sequel to Betraying Sasuke. It's been six months since Sakura has seen Itachi and she'd do anything to forget him, but will she feel the same when she sees him after so long? Itasaku fluff ensues. WIP
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Leading**

Sakura leaned against Naruto's wall and sighed. It had been forever since he'd come home, because he was either constantly on missions or running errands that Tsunade asked of him. It was odd for Sakura, because it was almost as if she and Naruto were a newly wed couple. She would make meals and clean house and do stuff that wives would do, because Tsunade refused to give her any missions after the incident 6 months ago with Itachi and Kisame. Naruto was constantly out working, and he would come home eat, and talk with Sakura and Sakura found more that they had in common than before.

Of course, they didn't sleep in the same bed…not even in the same room for that matter, but it still felt like it.

It had indeed been 6 months since she had last seen Itachi, and she started to think about him less and less, but it was as if his memory was slipping through her fingers, no matter how desperately she tried to catch it. 4 weeks is not enough time to get to know anyone, but with Uchiha, Itachi it seems to be 5 times harder.

Itachi was cold and distant and difficult to read, the only emotions being shown with his eyes but when he wanted to he could mask them, which Sakura hated the most. He also didn't speak hardly at all, even to his team partner Kisame, who made fun of Sakura, and who Sakura despised with all the spite and hatred her soul offered.

She was also sometimes haunted with fake images of Itachi. Whether he be walking down a street, watching her sleep or standing besides her, she always saw him. She knew she would never see him again…besides, like all her affairs with the Uchihas, it was always a one-sided love, which she wasn't even sure if it WAS love she felt for the eldest Uchiha brother.

That's when she decided to forget him.

With Sasuke, it had been different. With Sasuke, she was young and naive, and having something like a love walk away from her was new to her. But with Itachi…it had happened before. The one-sided love, the separating, the images of the person in every room. And she was too mature to dwell on it. So she let the memories slip from her, she made herself not think about him, and day by day as she noticed with satisfaction, his image slowly began to disappear.

Sakura knocked on the 5th Hokage's door. She heard Tsunade's voice from behind it, beckoning her in and she walked in, the first thing she noticed being Naruto in the room as well.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said and waved, Sakura returning the wave and looking at Tsunade. Tsunade smiled at her.

"Sakura-chan, I've been speaking to Naruto…and well, we've both decided it would be best for you if you received a little break. So I'm assigning you a mission." Tsunade said, and Sakura smiled broadly.

"I shall be overly excited to receive it, Tsunade-sama." Sakura said, her voice shaking in anticipation. 6 months of the same routine could drive a person crazy.

"You and Naruto shall be co-leaders on this mission. You will be leading two groups of Genin to the Sound country...there seems to be a small group there trying to resurrect Orochimaru's army. We need you and your shinobi to investigate and attack if necessary…this is a D-ranked mission, and we know that the two of you will do your best." Tsunade finished, and nodded, dismissing the two.

-Walking Home-

"Thank you, Naruto, for giving me a chance to get out of the house." Sakura said, and smiled at him. Naruto grinned and slung his arm over her shoulders.

"It was no big deal, Sakura-chan…anything for you." And he winked as Sakura rolled her eyes and knocked his arm off. Naruto grinned again and put his hands behind his head, looking at her.

"So Sakura-chan, what's for dinner tonight, I'm starving." Naruto groaned and Sakura poked his ribs.

"First we pack for tomorrow. I'm going to be ready no matter what. I've already failed one mission and I'm not going to fail another as important as this. We can have dinner if we have time." Sakura said, unlocking the door to the apartment and walking inside, shivering at the brisk air inside.

Naruto groaned. "Fine fine fine but I'm packing super fast i'm craving ramen…" Naruto complained and Sakura twitched, annoyed.

"You're always hungry for Ramen, what are you talking about? I'll pass on Ramen we had enough of that when I was with…" she trailed off and Naruto looked down, knowing that just recently Sakura had come to him with a request that if it could be avoided, don't talk about her mission with Itachi.

Naruto had been extremely worried after Sakura had said that. He was paranoid about the situation, always asking her what had happened like if Itachi had raped her or something. Sakura had looked very surprised the first time he had suggested it; even had laughed at it, but she denied it. Naruto had finally given up asking, and it pained him to see the look on her face as she remembered.

"Why don't we have something else then…I could make something." Naruto said, changing the subject and Sakura looked up at him shaking her head profusely.

"No WAY…last time I ate your cooking I seriously got sick. I'd like to actually like to eat AND keep it in my stomach tonight, thank you very little." Sakura said, sticking out her tongue and running to her room, starting to pack her things for tomorrows mission exuberantly. Finally, a chance to get out of the hell hole of extreme boredom.

Naruto smiled at her from the doorway and walked to his room to get his bag ready. Ever since that had happened, he swore that if Itachi tried to come near her again, he would kick his ass and not care what the consequence was. Something awful must have happened to Sakura, or she wouldn't want to keep it a secret.

But seeing her smile while packing made him happy, because she was finally…slowly, but finally returning to the Sakura-chan from before.

Sakura yawned as she dragged a half-asleep Naruto out from the apartment, not even bothering to lock it behind her. Naruto finally had woken up fully when the got to the front gates, looking at the two teams of 5 of genin that stood before them. Of course, they knew none of them, but it was a chance to learn about them.

Sakura took out a sheet of paper with all their information on it and checked out the profiles of each. They were all strong and experienced and Sakura was happy at least she wasn't getting a crappy team like she sometimes…well, she found, almost most of the time…did.

Sakura checked off their names as she went through the list and she introduced herself, as did Naruto, and they were off.

It took Sakura, Naruto and the others a half-week to get to Sound Village, and when they got there, they were all worn out. She had learned more about the people who were in the team in that time, and she had learned to especially like one of them, named Ichigo, a kunoichi like herself. Ichigo had no last name, because she had no family she remembered. She was found outside of the Konoha gates when she was small and was taken in by them, and raised as named Ichigo, the only word she seemed to know.

Ichigo on the outside had a mostly cold exterior, as her hair was black her skin was pale and her eyes were purple and uninviting…but her personality was the opposite. She was much like Sakura, but hyper to the power of twelve and extremely flirtatious, which sometimes annoyed Sakura but she had learned to become best friends.

"Sakura-chan…." Ichigo whined behind her. "Can we PLEASE take a break?" Sakura rolled her eyes. This was the tenth time that Ichigo had asked her.

"No, we can't…" Sakura said and ignored her mumbled protests. "We're almost there…besides I-" Sakura was cut off as a kunai whizzed past her head.

"Watch out!" Sakura yelled. "Spread but try to stick together. And try to catch the culprits!" Sakura added and everyone got out their weapons. Sakura got out a fistful of shurikens, Naruto called forward many shadow clones to help with the search, and Ichigo got out her fan, which always reminded Sakura of temari. The others got out theirs, such as swords and some just as standard as kunai and shurikens.

Several shinobi jumped out of the forest, attacking their group and as more and more came, Sakura realized that they were deeply out numbered. By their forehead protector, she noticed they were Sound nin. _These must be the nin that we're hunting._ She said, alerting the others.

Sakura fought the shinobi off, killing a couple but decided to feel guilt later. She desperately fought them off as many more came out of the forest, surrounding them. She heard cries from behind her and turned around to see one of their own team members, Yuki, fall to the ground dead. She noticed that many others of their team were injured, some unconscious.

Naruto was doing a pretty good job by himself, but she could see blood lust coming to his eyes and she knew if they didn't defeat them fast, the kyuubi would appear. All thoughts of that disappeared as Naruto was hit in the head from behind. She yelled out his name as he fell, and she threw a kunai through the throat of the shinobi who did it, the shinobi falling on top of Naruto.

Sakura panicked, she and Ichigo and about 4 others were the only ones left. She sighed in relief as many of the sound shinobi fell as well, and she noticed that many of the people who she thought were more shinobi were actually just shadow clones.

Sakura felt the cold metal of a kunai against her throat and she froze, afraid to move. "Hey, little girlie…what are you doing in a place like this?" A hard mocking voice said behind her. She took her foot and stomped his foot, backing up and trying to somehow knee him in the crotch, but stopped when the kunai pressed deeper into her skin, warm blood starting to drip.

"Aw, doll, don' act like that. If you're good I won't do something to terrible to you. To be honest I rather keep you nice and alive while I break you." He said, playing with her hair. "Do you like it soft of rough?" he asked, and licked the side of her face.

She made a disgusted face, but she couldn't stop the fear that crept throughout her body. She shut her eyes as he raised his hand to knock her out when the shinobi collapsed behind her. She looked at the shinobi; he was dead.

She looked around…all the sound ninja were dead, and all of her men were unconscious, with the exception of the one dead ninja. Ichigo stood there, panting and covered in blood. But when she turned her head as she was mesmerized by the eyes of the person who had saved her from the shinobi.

Those deep red eyes that she thought she'd never see again.

**-Hides trying to dodge thrown objects- I'm sorry I'm sorry! Either you're throwing objects at me because….A) It sucked or B) I waited two days to get this out. I'm so sorry but this is the first chapter of the second part, named Damaged! Yay, lol. Well please read and review and I shall love you forever! –huggles-**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Sakura's knees started to shake as she looked at the whole face of the person who saved her. When was the last time she had seen him? His black hair, his onyx sometimes red eyes, the sharingan now occupying it. For some reason, he seemed taller then when she had last seen him, but she had tried to forget him hadn't she? The one that was forbidden to her, as was the same for him. Itachi. ((I am so sorry, I probably should have said Sasuke, but I have another plan for him…))

Sakura looked over at Ichigo, who started limping over to them, fan in hand. When she looked at Itachi her eyes grew wide and she jumped back. "Woah, Sakura! Move!" She waved her fan and swung it at Itachi, who simply moved out of the way of her wind jutsu attack. Sakura didn't tell Ichigo to stop; Sakura was too busy going over her feelings in her mind.

_He's here…and he saved me! Or did he…? Maybe the man was just in his way. Or he's just killing people to get stronger. That's all he's after, right? Strength. Not anything else. Not me._ _Why do I even care?_

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts and put her hands on Ichigo's arm, stopping her next attack. "Ichigo! Please, stop!" Sakura pleaded to Ichigo, who was still attempting to attack him, no matter what Sakura was saying.

Ichigo finally settled down, panting. "Why, Sakura? Do you know who this is? It's Uchiha, Itachi! The one who killed the whole Uchiha clan and led Sasuke to lead the village!" Ichigo retorted, hitting a soft spot in Sakura. "He…he kidnapped YOU!" Ichigo started shaking badly and she fell to the ground.

"Ichigo!" Sakura said, bending down with her. "Are you okay?" Sakura scanned her body with a medical jutsu and found her body almost completely drained of Chakra, and she had a few minor injuries spread out over her body.

"Sakura." The rich, deep voice of Itachi said from the other side of the clearing. Sakura looked at him, and he started to say something when someone crashed through into the clearing 'accidently' running into Sakura, who had stood up when Itachi had spoken.

"Kisame!" Sakura groaned and rubbed her arm.

"Oi." He said, looking down at Ichigo. He stopped and Sakura swore she saw a reddish tint to his skin, but he looked away to look at Itachi.

Ichigo looked from the pair of S-class criminals to Sakura, her eyes wide, but narrowing them as she coughed, blood leaking out of the corner of her mouth but she swiped it away. "Ichigo, are you going to be okay?" Sakura asked, and Ichigo nodded faintly.

"We need to go get help. For you, and for all the other members here." Sakura said, and helped her up, flinging Ichigo's arm across her shoulder.

"Woah, woah, woah..who said we were going to let you leave?" Kisame said, crossing his arms. "We've been watching you guys for a whole day now, and we've decided to take the Kyuubi."

Sakura narrowed her eyes and moved with Ichigo to stand in front of where Naruto was under the dead shinobi's body, protecting him. "No. We're leaving. And you're not going to follow us, or stop us. My team is injured, and I can't leave them like this." Sakura said, ignoring the annoyed look on Kisame's face and the deathglare she was retrieving from Itachi.

Itachi disappeared and then appeared in front of her in a poof of smoke. "Sakura. You're coming with us again. Do you need me to remind you of what happened last time you defied me?" He asked, his Sharingan shifting in his anger.

Sakura looked away. "No." she mumbled and he smirked. "Because I know more than then. I know how to avoid it." She said, trying to avoid eye contact as much as possible. Itachi's smirk widened.

"You think just because you know how I use the Mangekyou Sharingan that you know how to avoid it?" Itachi asked, grabbing her chin and forcing her eyes to look at him, but she closed them. "I'm disappointed in you, Sakura."

"Let her go, you bastard!" Ichigo said, and Itachi looked at her. Itachi looked her in the eyes and Ichigo collapsed, and Sakura tried to catch her but Itachi did instead, disappearing and reappearing beside Kisame.

"You either come with us with the kyuubi…or I'll kill your friend. Don't think I won't." Itachi said, giving Ichigo to Kisame. Sakura clenched her fist so tight she could feel them embedding in her skin.

"Fine." She said, using a replacement jutsu and transfiguration jutsu to make the shinobi on top of Naruto look like him while the real naruto looked like the Shinobi on top of him, masking her chakra as she did it to hide it. She heaved out Naruto and dragged him to where Itachi stood. Itachi picked him up and flung him over his shoulder, then nodded towards Kisame, who threw Ichigo to the ground.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan." Kisame said, smirking. Sakura looked at Itachi, who looked at her and she blacked out.

_Damn Mangekyou Sharingan._ She thought before she fell unconscious.

-Itachi's POV-

It was her. It was the Kunoichi that he thought he'd never see again, Sakura. She was leading a team of shinobi, on a mission. They had followed them for a whole day, Kisame believing they were both looking at the Kyuubi…but the whole time, his eyes had been on her.

She looked different…what was different? And why did he care or even remember what she looked like? For the past six months, he had not thought of her once. Well, that was a lie; he had thought of her a lot. And he hated his stupid feelings for it aswell. It seemed as if the harder he tried to rid his body of feelings, the more they haunted him.

And destiny wasn't helping much either. Many situations he'd had put him to where he had to remember his feelings. Such as running into Sasuke many times, seeing fathers and their sons, bringing Sakura into his life, and as if that wasn't enough they ripped her apart from him.

After all that had happened (Him blushing at the memory of a naked Sakura) he was oddly finding that he missed her. But he quickly cast away that thought. He didn't like Sakura. Now, if only he could make his mind believe him.

He was too caught up in his thought to notice that Sakura and her group were fighting. Kisame and Itachi watched the fight with mild amusement when he saw some guy touching Sakura. His stomach jolted as he licked her face and touched her light fuchia hair. A pang of a feeling he hadn't ever felt before ran through his body. It wasn't anger, was it? No, it was guilt.

He attacked the man, knocking him out.

Scenes from before ((XD))

Itachi caught Sakura in his arms as she fell after he knocked her out with his Mangekyou Sharingan. She was limp, but she was still solid from so much training and shinobi missions and such. She wasn't heavy, but she wasn't light either.

"Are we taking her with us?" Kisame asked. "We don't need her; we have the Kyuubi." Kisame said, looking oddly at Itachi, who scoffed.

"That isn't the kyuubi. That's a replacement." Itachi said, looking to where the real Naruto laid, but he wasn't there anymore. "The real Kyuubi escaped a long time ago, and was watching the fight from afar. He's just too drained of Chakra to do anything about it. If you can hear me, Kyuubi, we have your friend. If you want her back, you better be ready to hand over the bijuu." Itachi said, and walked off, Kisame trailing behind him with Ichigo in his arms.

**-Dodges rocks and empty popcorn buckets- I know I'm sorry I'm sorry! Will you people ever forgive me! I've been so busy….-Sigh- Also, this one sucked but I'm…again…tired because I've been at Splashtown all day (WOOOT!) I know I've overworn that excuse but it's totally true! But to answer your review! (Finally…XD)**

**Faridaguant- I know, he's really hot…XD lol**

**Ginacat- I know, I'm such a cliffy writer, but this one isn't a cliffy! …Sort of. Lol**

**JusticeDream- I know….If you tackled me for just being two days late I wonder what you do for bad awful writers who wate for 5….-is muy scared- lol, j/k…but sorry if you were expecting Sasuke, but like I said, I know what I'm going to do to him and it's kind of…well, later, lol.**

**Krystleg777- Thank you so much for your review I enjoyed reading it! I know, If I hadn't been writing this I think it would have been awesome if it was actually Sasuke.**

Sakura And Itachi Forever- Uh…thanks? XD 

**Xinoria- Thank you SO much! I hope I didn't disappoint you too much with this one… -.-'**

**Demonangel13- Don't die don't die! Are you already dead because I DID take so freaking long? –mourns-**

**Sesshingfreak010- Thank you! ((GO SESSHOMARU, MY SMEXY BEAST! XD))**

**Angel locket- Gracias! I like your username, it's sweet. **

**Sharinganlvr- Spank yous wewy much! XD I've waited and awfully long time though, and I'm guilty I hope you all know please have bad aim so I don't get hurt too bad by your flying empty popcorn buckets of doom…**

**Tentenrox- No, Ichigo has violet eyes, remember? Or am I the forgetful one? -.-'**

**Goddess11431- thank you so much! –hugs-**

**CraZy-AneH-GiRL****- Thank you for reading! –hugs- lovers you!**

**Ashinahime- Okies, I updated but late, lol. Please forgive, and thanks for R&R!**

**Narutogirl1- lol. OMG, I love you too! Lol. Thanks for your review and please read the next one! –hug-**

**Wyvren Wing- Well, I'm glad Wyvren likes my stories tell her I lovers her and give her this please: -hugs- ((And a side note…is wyvern from the series broken sky? If not I feel retarted and please just say yes to make me feel good…-.-'))**

**SasukeHopeSakura- Sweet, thanks for waiting…XD lol**

**Slytherin-Ice-Queen22- Thanks! I hope you keep up with the story! (MalfoySmexiness)) **

**Deadlydemon17- OMG thank you so much especially for keeping up with this story! As much as it DOESEN'T look like it, I am trying to do my best with this story! –hugs- **

**If I didn't get anyone please except this apology that I am apologizing with the upmost sincerity and hopefulness for your forgivness. **

**MoonlitXkunoichi**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

'_Ouch…'_ Was the first thought that entered Sakura's mind as she slowly regained conciousness. Her head ached, and so did her body. Her face felt dry where the man had licked her earlier, and that's when all the memories of the past night came rushing back, making her aching head pound in agony. She winced, and opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was the sky. The cloudless sky with stars that seemed to go on forever. The moon was full, and it looked close to earth from wherever she was. That reminded her that she was in a completely different place, and Itachi and Kisame had her in their possession once more.

She looked to her right and saw Ichigo laying there next to her, and she was awake. Ichigo's eyes were wide and frightened, and her eyes were brimming with tears. Sakura's arm burned in pain, but she took her hand and grabbed Ichigo's, squeezing it comfortingly. Ichigo jumped a bit and looked at Sakura, and her mouth and eyes smiled at Sakura.

"Are you okay?" Sakura mouthed, and Ichigo nodded. "Scared." Ichigo mouthed back. Sakura smiled.

"There's nothing really to be frightened about. I'm here, and they're quite harmless once you get to know them." Sakura whispered, wincing as she scooted her way closer to Ichigo.

"Ah, Sakura-chan and her friend are awake!" a familiar voice that sent a twinge of annoyance to Sakura said. Sakura looked over and saw Kisame looming over them. Ichigo started to tremble a slight bit, but Sakura's eyes narrowed.

"Well if it isn't the fish who always claims he has girls swarming over him but no one ever sees them." Sakura mocked, sitting up and ignoring the pain, to concentrated on making fun of her captor.

"Aw, Sakura-chan, what a mean greeting. You really should get some more sleep, what with your attitude and _that_ face. I guess the term "beauty sleep" doesn't apply to hags like you." Kisame retorted, crossing his arms and smirking.

Sakura growled under her breath and clenched her hands into fists, ready to lunge at him, but stopped when Ichigo began to let out small giggles. "Hey…" Sakura said, frowning. "Who's side are you on?"

"Quit it, both of you." A voice rang out, the voice that just recently made Sakura's heart race and her cheeks flush. Sakura looked over at Itachi, who was looking through a pouch. The smile disappeared off of Ichigo's face and the hold on Sakura's hand tightened.

Itachi stood up and threw something at Sakura, making her close her eyes for impact, but it just landed into her lap. What else but Instant Ramen.

"You and your friend are going to want to eat that. We start heading out in thirty minutes. If you're not ready by then, we'll make you drop what you're doing and come." Itachi said, and turned to walk into the forest. Sakura's heart beat at it's normal pace after he had gone, and she noticed Ichigo was red in the face.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked, and Ichigo smiled and nodded, but it was a weak smile and it disappeared quickly. "Really, tell me Ichigo I'll try to help." Sakura said, readying the supplies to cook. Right now, Ichigo was the only person who was on her side and wasn't using her for evil purposes. She was also a girl, which meant a lot to Sakura.

"Oh, god, _girl_ talk…" Kisame said, acting like he was about to throw up. "I'm surprised you can actually do girl talk, Sakura, but all the same I'm leaving…I'll be near though, so don't try anything. You know what happened last time." Kisame said with a smirk and left into the trees. Sakura stuck out her tongue at his back and turned to Ichigo.

Ichigo had her knees drawn to her chest with her chin on them. "Ichigo-chan?" Sakura asked and Ichigo looked up with tears in her eyes.

"What are we going to do, Sakura? We're captives of two S-Class criminals! We have nothing but the clothes on our backs and a spare in my bag and each other. We have no way of sending a message to Konoha…and you even act friendly with them! This will get us nowhere, Sakura." Ichigo said, saying the last part accusingly which sent a guilty pang through Sakura.

"I…I apologize." Sakura whispered. "If it's any comfort at all, I'm glad you're here with me despite the fact that we're in deep trouble. Last time, I was alone, and I didn't know what to do. So many questions ran through my mind. 'Would they rape me? Are they going to kill me?' I was so scared. But now we have each other. And I wouldn't let them do anything to you, Ichigo-chan. I promise." Sakura smiled at her, and Ichigo smiled back, and threw herself on Sakura, hugging her.

"Thank you, Sakuranee-chan." Ichigo whispered and Sakura blushed. Ichigo drew away and smiled. Sakura was then distracted by the Ramen boiling over in the pot and she shrieked, trying to remove the pot from over the flame without burning herself.

Sakura and Ichigo were eating in silence when Kisame returned.

"Sakura-chan, you're eating? I thought you wouldn't want to, seeing your figure and all. If I were you I would go anorexic with that much fat." Kisame "tut"ed and Sakura growled at him again.

"Watch it, Kisame, I'm the only one who knows how to cook something other than Instant Ramen. I _will_ leave you to starve." Sakura said, sticking out her tongue which was grasped by Kisame.

"Like hell you will! Who gives you the food to do it, wench? Me! I could let you starve if I wanted to."

"Wha-eva!" Sakura said as best she could without the full use of her tongue. "You a' da un 'oo 'eeds 'o 'ose 'ome weigh'!" Kisame let go of her tongue. "Do you wear that huge cloak to hide it?" Sakura said tugging on the Akatsuki robe.

Ichigo just stood there in awe, staring at them. She gave Sakura a "Are-you-sure-that's-a-good-idea' look.

"Shut up and get moving." Itachi said as he made his way back into the camp. "We're going to go out of Sound and into the Fire Country. But first we must move Southeast." Itachi continued, and grabbed his satchels and waiting at the exit of the meadow headed Southeast.

Ichigo and Sakura started talking lightly while packing up their things and Kisame sighed impatiently for them. "Let's not wait for the grass to grow, get a move on!" Kisame finally blurted, and Sakura rolled her eyes while Ichigo jumped and stuffed everything else in the bag, practically running towards the two men.

Sakura followed, and the four-some began their journey out of Sound.

The next two days were loaded with nothing but walking, resting, and eating, with the occasional side chatter between either Ichigo and Sakura or Kisame and Itachi, with the daily quarrel between Kisame and Sakura.

They had sat down to eat the second night when Kisame got drunk off of Sake, saying the stupidest things and running into things. Sakura rolled her eyes and Kisame ran into his fifth tree and continued eating her pork, the meal pleasing to her taste buds after so much ramen.

"You know, Sakura-chan." Ichigo said around the campfire that Itachi, Sakura, and Ichigo herself were sitting around eating at, "You and Kisame quarrel so much, it's like you're a married couple."

Sakura choked on her pork and Itachi stopped drinking the juice from the bottom of his bowl, eyeing Ichigo. "I'm serious. Do you like him?" Ichigo asked, whispering the last part.

Sakura, her eyes watering from lack of air when she choked, shook her head furiously, blushing. "No! I don't! He's not my type. And…I like someone else. Well, at least I think so…I…" Sakura stuttered, avoiding the faces of everyone near her.

"Oh." Ichigo nodded. "Who? Is it Neji? Oh, it has to be him…he's so fine…" Ichigo giggled. "And you went out with him for a while, didn't you?" Ichigo asked and Sakura blushed more furiously, suddenly finding her pork extremely interesting.

"That's enough talk. You act as if I wouldn't hesitate to kill you. Let me remind you that you're with S-Class criminals under the organization of Akatsuki. Don't act care free." Itachi said in his ever monotone voice, and Ichigo didn't talk the rest of the night.

Sakura rolled over on her bed matting on the ground, thinking of the discussion at dinner. She couldn't believe she said she liked someone…as far as she knew, she could have made Itachi think she was unavailable because of her infatuation with someone else. Haha. In her dreams. The real story probably went something more along the lines of that he didn't care, and he probably thought she was stupid for liking someone and not trying to do something like build up her strength like him.

But with Itachi, It was difficult to tell. _Stop thinking about it, Sakura, and get to bed._ She told herself, and with a final twist and turn in her bed, she fell asleep.

-

Sakura was harshly woken from her sleep by the clang of Kunai. She was still half-asleep, and the exhaustion took a heavy toll on her.

"Foolish little brother." Itachi's voice rang out, and her heart skipped a beat. She threw the blanket covering her off and stood up, turning around to the voices and clangs.

Itachi stood there, a blank look on his face, protecting himself with a Kunai from….Sakura's eyes widened, and her hands trembled.

Sasuke was standing there, trying to harm him. Sakura took a step forward, than another. Not aware of her surroundings, all she could do was stare at the face of the man she thought was lost to her forever.

"S…Sasuke-kun." She croaked. Her voice wouldn't seem to work correctly. Sasuke didn't even look into her direction. He threw pulled away, pushing itachi who barely moved, but it gave Sasuke enough time to pull a couple of jutsu signs and he performed a fire jutsu on Itachi, who merely dodged it, but Sasuke had improved. Itachi's sleeve was on fire.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura tried again, and she got his attention. He looked at her with an annoyed expression on his face, and she gasped. The curse mark was everywhere, like it had consumed him and it was burning. His eyes were completely different than how she remembered them. They were the Sharingan, but they had an oddest tint to them. His face was contorted in an evil glare that did not soften as he looked at her. He did quit the glare, but it was replaced with a smirk.

"If it isn't my old team mate Sakura. Do you ever quit searching?" Sasuke asked, and Sakura looked to the ground. "I am surprised to see you with my brother…but your affairs mean nothing to me." Sasuke turned to face Itachi.

Sasuke did a couple of hand signs and began to attack, while Itachi started to fight with him as well. Sakura felt empty and cold in her stomach. This was a screwed up version of the dreams she used to have when Sasuke left her, before Itachi came. But seeing him again stirred up old feelings and it hurt her.

Sasuke just rejected her, again, just like her dream as well…even though the one in her dream was more frightening to her, having it happen in real life was much more painful. Her fists clenched as tears streamed down her face. Kisame was now in the background, but she heard Itachi tell him that it was his fight.

Ichigo had woken up as well, and she put her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "We should use this time to escape." Ichigo said, but right as she said it, Kisame came up next to them.

"What was that?" He asked, and Ichigo laughed nervously. "Nothing…"

The fight pursued between the two brothers, and it looked as if Sasuke was losing when Sasuke pulled a move in which he was standing behind Itachi, and Itachi looked around for him.

"Itachi!" Sakura screamed and Itachi moved out of the way of the snakes that Sasuke had sent from his arm. _No._ Sakura thought in her head. _This is becoming to much like my dream…_

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as his snakes swirled around him, but he had a laughing, maniacal look on his face that scared Sakura. _Sasuke…what has become of you?_ Sakura thought sadly. It was almost sunrise, and with the red moon still out in the sky and the sky red from the sunset, it set off a scary scene, which made everything more worse than it actually was.

The light illuminated Sasuke's face as he battled with Itachi. She heard the all familiar voice of Itachi saying his Mangekyou Sharingan, his voice as empty as ever, but there was something different about it. She couldn't place it with her mind all messed up and confused, but it was there.

Sakura grew more panicked, seeing her former teammate like this. Not just her former teammate, but her former crush, and don't you still have feelings for people even if you move on to other things?

Sakura didn't know what she was doing or why she did it, but she found herself running towards the two fighting siblings. It was as if it all was in slowmotion, and her heart thudding was so loud it was defeaning, muting out the yelling of Ichigo telling her to wait, or the remarks from Kisame saying she was stupid, but she ran out, grabbing onto the arm of Sasuke's that was sporting the Snakes.

"Stop!" Sakura screamed, holding onto his arm as tightly as she could and burying her head into his arm. "Stop it!" she yelled again, like he hadn't heard the first time.

"Get off of me." Sasuke said, flinging his arm, trying to throw her off, but it only made her hold onto him harder. "Sakura!" Sasuke said again, wriggling. Itachi did not attack, and Sasuke made no move to attack either, with the weight of Sakura weighing him down and the arm he couldn't use because of her.

"Sakura…" Sasuke said more quietly this time. "I have to do this. I've waited my whole life for this moment." Sasuke muttered, and Sakura loosened up a bit at the sound of Sasuke's voice, so similar to the voice before he turned to Orochimaru.

Sasuke took this slight moment she loosened to fling her off. A lone snake hovered above her, ready to attack, but a kunai was sent through it, the wriggling head falling off and spurting Sakura with blood, who screamed. Sasuke winced and threw a few shuriken at Itachi, who disappeared and reappeared behind Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes widened in pain and Sakura, shaking, crawled over to see what had happened. Her eyes widened as well and she automatically screamed out Sasuke's name.

Itachi had taken 3 Kunai and had plunged them into all the special nerves in Sasuke's back. Sasuke should have been paralyzed, Sakura knew, but he simply had difficulty moving. He looked back at Itachi with a furious look and disappeared.

Sakura looked at her hands, which were splattered with the snakes's blood in weird patterns. She knew it was all over it, and it made her feel nauseous, like she was going to throw up. She didn't know if it was the blood or the sight of the Sasuke who's crazed look still lingered in her mind, but she held her stomach and put her knees up, resting her forehead on them.

Someone approached her, but she didn't bother to look up. "Sakura, are you…can you stand?" Itachi asked from beside her, hesitating.

Sakura nodded and got up. Itachi took a step back, giving her room, but Sakura, tired with little sleep and in shock from all that occurred, lept up and through herself onto him, putting her arms around his neck and sobbing into his shoulder.

Itachi seemed angered at first, but his face turned into the blank stare and his hands rested on her hips, as if they weren't quite sure; back away, or embrace her. They stayed that way for a while, Sakura sobbing into his shoulder and Itachi letting her, not saying anything comforting, but Sakura knew this from Uchiha Itachi was enough.

**Okay, collective "AWWWWW"! Hee hee, I hope you guys liked this chapter it took me so long to get it out and I apologize! I was grounded, and then after that I was on vacation, then I didn't feel like getting on the computer, which you can blame me fully for…lol. Okay, and now your reviews! I got a lot more than I thought I would, so thank you! They were also very supportive and I thank everyone with as much thanks as I can muster! I've been afraid with writing these because sometimes I think they're good, but other times I think they suck…lmao. So yes. Also thanks to my new readers, especially to MisticElf! I don't know why, but I really liked your review...lol **

**Burdela: Thank you so much! I try, and if I stray at all, please keep me in line! I want to know what my readers think! Also, If he seemed OOC with the hugging thing, just tell me, but Itachi is in LOVE here people, so it's new for both me and Itachi. (XD –cough-excuse-cough-)**

**Heartless Soul: They took both of them. I felt in this one, that Sakura should have some female companionship to help her, but don't worry I have plans for Ichigo that I think will help Sakura and Itachi…but I've said to much already, so shh….lmao.**

**To everyone I didn't get, please accept my apologies, but I have to get going! I love you all!**

**MoonlitXkunoichi**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Sakura woke up when she felt the warmness around her leave. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around. At first, she couldn't remember what had happened, but then Sasuke's face showed clear in her mind, and the blood on her hands, and she closed her eyes again, trying to close the image off from her mind.

She suddenly opened her eyes and sat up, a huge blush creeping up against her skin, the blush turning hot when she looked down at her clothes. In some odd way, the akatsuki robes that she was wearing right now, the cloud pattern weird but cute for such a deathly band of criminals, made her smile.

She remembered how Itachi had pulled her away from him, then stalked away to be alone. She hadn't wanted him to go, but he was replaced by Ichigo, who took her shaking hand and led her down to the nearest river, helping her bathe and get the blood off of her face and hands.

Ichigo had been a big source of comfort to Sakura in many ways, and she loved the female company. Ichigo had slept with her that night, and the reason Sakura had woke up was when Ichigo had left. Ichigo had also gotten the robes for Sakura, who had no other clothes except the blood-stained ones, which were disposed of last night.

Sakura looked around, and not seeing anyone, she stood up and started walking into the forest to go to the restroom when she heard giggling. _What is that?_ Sakura wondered, looking around. She stepped into a clearing when she saw two figures, and Sakura immediately hid behind a tree. She glanced around it and saw Ichigo pressed up against a tree, Kisame looming over her.

Sakura was about to go and kick him in the back of the head when Ichigo giggled…again? Kisame had this crazy grin on his face and was staring down at her. Ichigo played with a lock of her hair and stuck her tongue out at him, when Kisame leaned down to…

"It's not like you to spy, Sakura." A voice said behind her and she jumped, whirling around to face Itachi. _Damn it, right at the good part!_ Sakura groaned in her head.

"I…I wasn't spying!" Sakura argued back, blushing and looking away from him. "I was simply, going into the forest looking for Ichigo, and…Hey, what are YOU doing here?" Sakura asked suspiciously, staring at him.

Itachi looked away and Sakura grinned. "You were spying as well, weren't you?" Sakura accused, crossing her arms.

"I think an Akatsuki member should always know where his partner is at all times…" Itachi said, and Sakura frowned.

"That excuse is worse than _mine._" Sakura said, shaking her head.

"It wasn't an excuse." Itachi said, walking close to her. Sakura backed up, her back finally touching a tree trunk. "And you shouldn't forget your place, which is below me. So don't cope the attitude." Itachi warned, sternness in his voice but none in his expressionless face.

Sakura nodded her head. She could hardly concentrate with Itachi being so close, the smell of him filling her senses. Despite the fact that it was terribly hot and he was wearing heavy dark clothes, he didn't smell of sweat at all, but of evergreen trees and soap. Itachi was in the middle of about to smirk when someone whistled, making Itachi back off and turn around and Sakura blush when she saw Kisame. Ichigo wasn't with him, but she knew it was to keep there "relationship" a secret.

Sakura smiled nervously and Itachi just stood there, staring at Kisame. "Sorry to interrupt the two of you, but everyone else is ready so shouldn't we be moving?" Kisame asked, grinning. Sakura nodded and started to quickly walk back to the campsite, grumbling after Kisame tripped her.

Sakura couldn't do it. She couldn't look at Itachi without blushing. And it didn't help that everytime she saw him or thought about him, her face turned red. Ichigo had even felt her face for signs of a fever a couple of times, and Sakura just said she was fine.

"I know what it is, Sakura." Ichigo whispered in her ear. It tickled, and Sakura giggled, making Kisame and Itachi both look at her. She blushed under the gaze of Itachi and laughed nervously. "You're _love_sick arent' you, Sakura-chaaan!" Ichigo sung into her ear. Sakura blushed furiously again and grabbed her cheeks, shaking her head.

"N-n-n-noo! It's not that at all! Who's there to like?" Sakura said a little too loudly, but only Kisame turned his head this time, and Sakura's stomach dropped as she thought about what she had just said. _Now there's no way Itachi likes me…_she sighed into her head. What made her say all the wrong things? _He probably dislikes me more now._ Sakura shrugged it off. _Whatever it's not like a really like him like that…_

Ichigo touched her shoulder and began whispering in her ear again. "Who is it, Sa-ku-ra?" Ichigo whispered luringly. Sakura shook her head, then looked at Ichigo, then jumped a bit. Ichigo was giving her a scaryingly glare at her.

_Ah! She's wondering if I'm after Kisame!_ Sakura grinned evilly. _That's why she probably told me about Kisame and I acting like a married couple! She was testing to see if we were together! _ Sakura turned to Ichigo, putting her lips next to Ichigo's ear.

"And what about _you_, Ichigo-chan?" Sakura asked, smirking at the way Ichigo jumped and blushed, almost as badly as Sakura had done a few moments before.

"Ah, you're absolutely right, no one here…" Ichigo laughed nervously. Sakura grinned and kept walking, Ichigo falling behind.

"God, women…" Kisame growled and rolled his eyes, making Ichigo giggle a bit, which made Sakura roll her eyes. "Fish…" she muttered, making Kisame growl, grabbing Sakura into a headlock.

"Get off of me, stupid fishstick!" Sakura yelled, making Kisame rub his knuckles into her head harder, making Sakura squeal. "You're the one in the headlock, ugly! I would shut up with the insults!" Kisame growled and finally let go of Sakura. Sakura glared at him and struck her foot out to kick/trip him, but her laughed and took his leg, hitting the back of her knees. Sakura fell to the ground, her face landing in a pile of dirt.

"Damn you, Kisame!" Sakura called after him as Ichigo helped her off the ground.

And in the front, away from all eyes, Itachi slightly shook his head, the smallest hint of a smirk on his face.

_Sakura looked all around her. All around her was fog…she couldn't see anything. "Hello?" Sakura called. "Where am I?" she wondered outloud. All of a sudden, she saw two dark, shadowy figures on either side of her. "Ah! Where am I!" She called to them. _

_A gust of strong wind came from behind her, making her scream. She clamped her eyes shut and held her head back to keep hair from whipping her face. When it stopped, she looked to see the wind had cleared a straight path to the two figures._

_Sasuke! She gasped, then looked to the other figure. It was Itachi. They were facing off against each other. _

"_STOP!" She called, but they couldn't hear her. They both ran at each other, stabbing each other with Kunais. They fell against each other, dead. Sakura screamed. "Itachi!" she fell to her knees, then the ground fell out from beneath her. She was falling, face first into darkness. She threw her arms out in front of her, feeling for anything to keep her from falling._

_Sakura…. A voice echoed. 'Sakura…' it kept echoing all around in the dark cavern…_

"SAKURA!"

Sakura jumped up and looked it around. Ichigo was sitting next to her, her hand still shaking Sakura's shoulder. Kisame and Itachi were also standing around her. The sky was still dark and they all looked sleepy, with the exception of Itachi's blank face.

"Do you have to be so damn loud in the morning, ugly?" Kisame groaned, his fingers rubbing his head. Sakura blushed.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, and Kisame looked at her like she was crazy. "Hello! You've been screaming and thrashing about for ten minutes!"

"I-I was! Why didn't you let me wake up sooner?" Sakura asked, totally embarrassed.

"I was bored. And it was quite funny to see you like that…" Sakura glared at him then sighed, glancing slightly at Itachi, who was still staring at Sakura. When Sakura noticed this, she blushed. Itachi just looked away and walked back over to his tree, sitting down stiffly and watching the dying embers of their small fire.

Sakura sighed and stared at her hands. Kisame had already fallen back asleep and Ichigo smiled, grabbing Sakura's hand then laying back down. Sakura smiled at the sweet gesture and laid next to her. Ichigo would help her through the night. _Ichigo is so cutely childish…._ Sakura thought before falling asleep.

Somewhere in Sound Country-

"I'm disappointed in you, Sasuke." Orochimaru said, watching as Kabuto put antibiotics on his back. "You didn't kill Itachi like I had ordered you too. You left him when you still could have killed him!"

"Orochimaru-sama, I was-" Sasuke growled out but orochimaru interrupted him.

"You had enough strength to get back here, but not enough to kill him?" Orochimaru whispered coldly and Sasuke stayed silent, his mind filling with obsenities.

"Gomen, Orochimaru-sama." Sasuke said, his eye slightly twitching as he said it.

"And according to your report…Itachi is traveling with two females?" Orochimaru asked, his eyes questioning. "Why would Itachi be as kind enough to travel with them?"

"I don't know either. But one of them interfered with us fighting." Sasuke said.

"Yes, you've told me that. Sakura. You're old teammate from Team Seven? I believe I have another mission to give you, Sasuke." He hissed with the cold laughter in his voice.

"Itachi must be traveling with them with them as bait." Orochimaru smirked. "For the Kyuubi. Sasuke, bring the two here. Either kill Itachi there, or lure him here with them. We'll kill him at headquarters." Orochimaru chuckled, his laughter slippery and deep in his throat. "How ironic. His bait will be his downfall."

"Hai, Orochimaru." Sasuke said coldly, the face of his old teammates swimming in his mind. _Gomen._

**Okay well the first part is okay and the last part sucks! Yay! And Orochi-kun is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo out of character! More yays! XD Thank you for your reviews and such, I lovered them! ((MisticElf is my smexy bitch, hee)) I hope you like this chapter, I shall be back sometime soon with the next one. This one was so late because of school, so now that everything has kind of settled down, I should be literally shoving the chapters on you, lol.**

** 3 moonlitXkunoichi**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

-Somewhere in the tracks of Sakura and the others- 

"Naruto, can you slow down? My god you're running like a maniac. You might have some extra chakra but the rest of us don't." Choji complained, finally trudging up to the rest of the group.

"Choji, I don't think you're quite grasping the depth of seriousness the situation calls for! Itachi has Sakura again. What he could be doing to her right now…" Naruto shuddered.

_Itachi grabbed Sakura, throwing her to the ground._

"_No! Itachi, what are you doing?" Sakura quivered on the ground. Itachi loomed over her, and evil smirk on his face, his eyes gleaming red._

"_I think you know what I want…" he replied, grabbing her shirt, slowly lifting it up while Sakura screamed, a faint blush creeping up on her cheeks, her eyes closed and a light sweat glistening all over her body…_

"NO! SAKURA!!" Naruto called and Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"You were the one complaining about the urgency of the situation so can we get moving, please?" He drawled, crossing his arms.

"Naruto!" Choji called, his tone strange.

"Not now, Choji I've almost got Naruto going…" Shikamaru yelled.

"I think you really have to see this." Choji said, and he held up Sakura's clothes….bloodstained and frayed. Naruto's eyes grew a couple sizes, as he ran over and he grabbed the clothes, looking at them closely.

"No…these can't be Sakura's. Sakura is stronger than that…she…she…" Naruto said. "Dammit!!" he called, throwing the clothes to the ground, grabbing his head and started to walk around in circles.

"Dude calm down I'm sure…" Shikamaru said, grabbing Naruto's shoulder. Narutos' eyes flashed red and his hand flew and knocked Shikamarus arm aside. Shikamaru looked at him, disgusted.

"You don't understand, she's all I have!" He said, and collapsed, cross-legged on the ground. The other boys looked at each other awkwardly.

"So I guess I was right about your small dick." Sai said, finally making his appearance in the conversation.

"What'd you just say?" Naruto said, standing up quickly and grabbing Sai's collar.

"Did I stutter?" Sai said, pushing his hand away from him. "I thought you had grown some balls and you were going to retrieve Sakura but now I see that was just a load of bull. So, her clothes have a little blood on them. I don't see a body in the clothes, do you? You always say how much you love Sakura but you never have enough balls to do anything for her."

"Shut up, man!" Naruto said, pushing him. "You don't give a damn about any of us, so don't be spouting the crap like you know me and Sakura or are close to anyone here. Just because I'm freaking out doesn't mean I don't care for Sakura anymore. I'm still going after her; I'm still going to find her. So just shut up okay? I don't need your two cents worth."

After his speech, Naruto turned around sharply and shot off into the forest, the others following with some complaining from Choji.

_Don't worry Sakura. I'm going to help you out, no matter what I might have to sacrifice._

-Sakura, Itachi, Kisame, Ichigo-

"YOU BURNED THE RAMEN?? That was our last package of freaking ramen and you freaking BURNED IT??" Kisame yelled, shaking Sakura by the shoulders. She brushed his hands off.

"Shut up!! This is the first time I've ever burned it! At least it's cooked! If it were up to you we'd all have starved by now you're so lazy!!" Sakura said, getting up in his face, which wouldn't have worked if Kisame wasn't already bending down to get in hers.

"Screw you, you whore!"

"Fish stick!"

"Ugly!"

"Good god, that's enough!" Ichigo yelled, pushing the two off of each other. Kisame had Sakura in a headlock and Sakura was punching every inch of him she could reach, trying to hit his crotch.

"She started it!" Kisame yelled the same time Sakura yelled, "He started it!" Ichigo rolled her eyes, muttering something under her breath about children. Sakura and Kisame just glared at each other.

"There is a city about 6 miles from here." Itachi said, and everyone looked over at him leaning against a tree, his eyes closed.

"Great. We'll pick food up from there." Ichigo said, sighing and she walked off. The sound of Itachi's voice made Sakuras heart start beating faster. It was Itachi's fault that she had burnt their ramen in the first place. She had been thinking of her dream last night with him and Sasuke. This morning, Ichigo had related to her what all she had screamed out…which mortified Sakura. Apparently, she had screamed out Itachi's name over and over, in ecstasy or fear the three others couldn't decipher.

"Itachi didn't really seem to care though, if it makes you feel better…" Ichigo tried to comfort Sakura on the way to the city. "He seemed…indifferent."

"Indifferent!" Sakura cried out, making Kisame turn around. "Indifferent?" She whispered harshly. "He's always indifferent!" Ichigo shrugged.

"Why do you care so much Sa-ku-ra?" Ichigo said smugly.

"Because you guys couldn't decide if I was screaming out his name in ecstasy or not?? Do you know how embarrassing that is?! I could die right now!" She groaned.

"Well which one was it?" Ichigo said, suddenly intent into their conversation.

"N-neither!" She stuttered in reply and started to walk faster, catching up with the two men in front of them. She soon began to regret blowing off Ichigo, because without Ichigo making her mind focus on her, her mind wandered off to less pleasant thoughts. Sasukes bloodstained appearance flashed in her mind. His strong jaw, his red eyes, the black hair falling into his face, his olive toned skin, the mouth that she had envisioned kissing so many times in her younger years…

She hadn't noticed everyone stopping and she slammed into a solid figure in front of her. Itachi held his hand out, stopping her. She blushed slightly and backed up. He was staring out in front of them, poker face on and everything. She looked out past her arm, and her mouth dropped open. The village in front of them was like a resort.

"Oh my god!" Ichigo cried. "That's amazing! It's so pretty!" Kisame smiled down at her.

The village had rides and booths and hotels, with food shops on every corner and a beautiful looking beach with blinding white sand and clear blue water. Ichigo ran ahead, smiling and practically skipping down the hillside to get to the village/resort. Sakura followed, while Kisame picked up the pace and Itachi strolled down. In the village, people didn't seem to notice the Akatsuki robes or even acknowledge the strange garments.

"Would you like a pastry, lady?" Sakura looked down to the voice of a small girl, possibly younger than ten looking up at her with big blue eyes and holding out a delectable looking treat with strawberry jam. Her mouth watered just looking at it.

"I would love to but I don't have the mo-" Sakura began, right when Itachi gave the girl a coin. The girl smiled with the coin in her hand and handed Sakura the pastry. Sakura looked up to meet Itachis eyes, but he had already disappeared. She looked down at the pastry and took a bite of it, the powdered sugary and strawberry-ness oozing into her mouth and tingling her tastebuds. The tartness made her start a little but it was truly amazing. She smiled and looked over at the Ichigo and Kisame, who were "secretly" sharing an icecream, Itachi behind them looking away…at her. She swore she saw him smile before he quickly turned around, but maybe the heat was playing tricks with her mind.

Just now noticing it, she felt the sun beat down on her back and was suddenly aware how being inside the Akatsuki robes in this weather only fell slightly short of being in a sauna. She walked over to Kisame and Ichigo, who thrust the icecream and Kisame and looked away.

"You guys, do you want to go to the beach and swim or something? It's excruciatingly hot…" Sakura complained.

"Are you insane? We don't have time to be lounging around and going swimming-" Kisame began but was cut short by Ichigo throwing herself on him.

"Please Kisame, please please please?" She begged, throwing in big puppy dog eyes.

"Okay." He replied and Ichigo smiled. Itachi stared stearnly in Kisames direction, but Kisame only seemed to be paying attention to Ichigo.

"Okay girl you know what this means…" Ichigo told sakura, grabbing her arm.

"What?" Sakura replied, slightly confused. "Bathing suits!" she cried and began dragging her off. "By the way, you know you have powdered sugar all over your face?" Ichigo added before running into the nearest clothing store.

-_Skip back a couple scenes-_

Itachi watched the little girl go up to Sakura and Sakura smile down at her. The sun behind her made her whole being seem to glow. _Seem to glow? What the hell?_ Itachi thought and shook it out of his mind. Itachi went up and handed the girl a coin for the pastry, and quickly walked over to Kisame, not wanting to see the look of stupid gratitude in Sakura's eyes.

He watched her bite into the pastry and smile. When she pulled it away she had powdered sugar smudged all over her face. His muscles twitched themselves into a smile, which he quickly covered up when she looked his way, quickly turning to look at Kisame and Ichigo's disgusting public/'secret' display of affection.

(Pleading Kisame to go to the beach…Sakura and ichigo skip off )

Itachi walked over and was pleased to see Kisame start. "Haha…Itachi-kun…" He grinned. "I know you're not much of a beach person, but…"

"What the hell was that? We don't have time, Kisame. The kyuubi is tracking us. We shouldn't even be spending this much time here."

"We've done a good job at hiding the tracks…Plus, Itachi-kun, we're all tired. We deserve this break. It's not like we're financially unready for this village either…" Kisame replied.

Itachi's reply was a simple brisk turn into a hotel, where Kisame presumed he was getting a room, but Kisame was more interested in imagining Ichigo in a bikini than Itachi getting a room.

-Fastforwardd-

"Omg, Sakura!" Ichigo screamed in the dressing room. "I am so jealous!!"

"What?" Sakura asked, looking at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a navy blue bikini that covered her up while still showing off her skin. It tied at her neck and came down and tied at her back. There was one cute light blue anchor on one side of the bikini. The bottoms were simple dark blue with rings where the fabric came together on both side of her hips.

"You've got such a hot body and that looks so cute on you!" she said. Ichigo herself looked in the mirror, her frame sporting a black string bikini with a silver starfish on the top and just black on the bottom, the reason possibly being that there wasn't much fabric to put a design on in Sakura's opinion.

Outside of the dressing room with the bathing suits under their clothes, Ichigo paid for the suits and the two walked out of the store, where Kisame grabbed Ichigo around her stomach making her scream then laugh in surprise. Sakura rolled her eyes, disgusted. Ichigo was so pretty and she was with Kisame?? _Love really must make you blind…_ Sakura recited in her head.

_Wait. Oh my god. What if it's like that with Itachi and me. Except the other way around. What if I'm too ugly for him??_ She began to wonder. _Wait wait wait sakura, get a grip on yourself. You and Itachi aren't even together._

_**But when you think of him, your heart begins to beat faster and your stomach gets butterflies and you get those really lusty daydreams.**_

_Yeah I got those with Sasuke too…Sasuke._ Sakuras stomach dropped.

_**But it's different for Itachi. You feel this way and you're older, more sure of what you want and even though you know it can't be you want it so bad.**_

_But I can't…I just…can't._ Sakura thought, ending the conversation in her head.

The threesome walked onto the sandy beach and up to the water. Sakura looked around before stripping down to her bikini. She looked over as Ichigo practically ripped her clothes off, qualm free when showing off everything she had to the whole beach. Kisame ran off holding his nose.

Sakura took off her sandals and rushed to the water, the sand burning the bottoms of her feet. She walked into the cool water and smiled as a slightly salty smelling wind blew her hair. Her perfect moment, however, was ruined by a huge splash of water hitting her in the face, followed by bouts of crazy laughter from Ichigo.

"Ugh!" Sakura yelled, dipping her hands in the water and splashing Ichigo back. Ichigo retorted with a wind jutsu that created a small wave that knocked Sakura down.

"No fair!!" Sakura yelled, laughing, and began splashing Ichigo the old fashioned way. "No cheating!!"

-Up in the 3rd floor window-

Itachi looked down on the beach and spotted his three companions messing around on the beach. He took in Sakura standing with her back to the hotel, her hair blowing in the wind and her lean figure in the flattering bikini. He suddenly pictured her coming up, wet from play into the room, a towel wrapped around her. Coming into the room while he slowly turned around, the towel slipping from her shoulders as she came up to him, slowly reaching up and grabbing his neck and pulling him down to her height as her lips reached his, finally touching, his hand forcefully grabbing her back and pushing her body into his…

_Get a hold of yourself, Itachi._ He thought, sternly reprimanding himself. He wouldn't allow himself to have feelings for her. He didn't have room for feelings. But something about Sakura stirred something up inside him and he couldn't repress but knew he had to. Maybe if they did do something, maybe if they were alone in the room tonight, the lustful thoughts would go away, his pining after her would end and he could finally focus on the mission…No he couldn't. The thoughts he had of her weren't just lustful. Sometimes the way he thought of her wasn't just as sexy but…cute. _Maybe like an animal._ He finally decided. Yes, they were all lustful and maybe just having the thoughts come true would get rid of them.

-Back at the beach-

The sun began to set, and Sakura smiled as she sat on the beach next to Ichigo and Kisame. Sakura watched as Ichigos hand rested lightly on Kisames hand. She rolled her eyes and got up, dusting herself off.

"So, guys I'm going to run up to the hotel room and I guess I'll see you later, ok?"

"Yeah sure, bye" Ichigo said, waving Sakura away. Sakura smiled and started walking to the hotel, grabbing a towel on her way there. She got into the reception area and asked the man at the counter about Itachis room reserving. With a dirty look in her direction because of her leaking water all over the carpet, he finally told her that there were two rooms reserved and the man she was inquiring about was in room 305. He gave her a spare key and she smiled sarcastically at him and began walking up the stairs.

On the second flight of stairs, she realized that when she walked into the room, it would just be her and Itachi alone. In a hotel room. Her heart began to beat a million times a second and she became fidgety, wrapping the towel closer to her body. She exited the stairwell and walked into the hallway, counting the doors. 304…305. She slid the key into the lock and slowly turned it, her heart beginning to beat faster and faster. What would she find on the other side of the door?

She slid the key out and turned the handle, walking inside. It was completely dark. She closed the door, her hand reaching out and searching the wall for a lightswitch. She stopped abruptly when she heard rustling in the room.

"Itachi?" She whispered.

The rustling got closer and the air warmer.

"Itachi?" She whispered again, louder.

Someone grabbed her hand and threw her onto the bed, pinning her whole body as it was strewn out on the mattress. She began to squirm and cry out but her mouth was covered by a pair of lips. _Oh my god I'm going to get raped by this man!_ Sakura panicked, struggling even more. The hands of the man grabbed her arms and wrestled them to rest up above her head. The mouth kissing her began to more kiss her more roughly.

The scent. This man smelled familiar. Like trees and soap and boy. _Itachi._

**Hahahahah I give you a cliffie ******** You knowww you love me. So I know you guys completely and totally hate me now for making you wait so long but here it is!! Can you believe it! I have decided to dedicate myself to the storyline again, I'm sure you're glad to know haha.**

**So thank you to everyone who have stuck with me this long. I don't know if you've noticed a change in writing style but I have. Please review, I'd really like to get some comments, or constructive criticism. Hey, if you want to tell me I just plain sucks, go ahead ******** But thanks guys! Much love, sunshines**

**moonlitXkunoichi**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

_Oh my god. Itachi is kissing me. _Sakura first thought. _No he's…raping me. Oh my god, Itachi is __**raping**__ me!!_ Sakura yelled inside her head.

_**Sakura! Are you crazy? You're a kunoichi! Powerpunch his ass and high tail it out of here!**_

_I can't do that I'd hurt him! Why is he doing this, I don't understand!!_

_**Punch him!!**_

_No! Itachi…_ Sakuras internal battle with herself was confusing her more and more. Why was Itachi doing this to her?

His hand grabbed the bottom of her bikini top, and he tugged it upward, cupping her breast. Sakura whimpered, squeezing her eyes tight, moisture gathering at the corners of her eyes. Itachi's lips left hers and he started kissing her neck. She turned her head, opening her eyes.

"Itachi." She whispered pathetically. His lips froze at the base of her throat. "Why are you- why are you doing this?" Her voice cracked as a tear ran down her face.

Itachi moved his face downwards, looking at her. She had squeezed her eyes shut again and she was shaking, a blush all over her face and her mouth pressed in a tight line, like she was preparing for him to hit her or something.

Sakura felt all the weight lift off her as Itachi got up off her. He walked over and sat on the corner of the other bed, facing the window and away from her. Sakura sat up quickly and tugged her bikini top down, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Itachi…" she began.

"Get out." Itachi whispered.

"What?" Sakura said, still shaking.

"I said get out." Itachi said louder, and turned around to glare at her maliciously.

Sakura felt tears prick at her eyes again and she ran to the door, opening it and not even bothering to shut it. She started running, tripping many times as tears ran down her face. _What just happened? What just happened?_ She kept repeating in her head. She passed Kisame and Ichigo on her way out of the hotel.

"Sakura, what's the matter??" Ichigo cried, but Sakura brushed past her and out of the Hotel. "Sakura!!"

Sakura wasn't worried about leaving her she was worried about not getting away from Itachi fast enough. What would have happened if Itachi hadn't stopped? What would have happened if she hadn't run out the door? Would he have tried to do something again?

She wasn't watching where she was going, who she was passing, what was going on around her. She finally collapsed in the sand, the tide coming in and splashing around her and then returning to the ocean.

"Oh god oh god…" Sakura whimpered out loud, her hands cupping her face. "No no no."

-_Back in the hotel (from a couple scenes ago)_

"Itachi." Sakura whispered. Itachi stopped. She whispered his name. More like whimpered it. "Why are you doing this?" She asked those five words pathetically. He sat up and looked at her. She looked so fragile for a girl so strong. She looked like she was trying to shield him from hitting her. He removed his hand from his chest. This girl didn't look like the girl who was seducing him on purpose, the girl who was distracting him on purpose. It looked like a defenseless girl that he was doing this too for no reason at all.

Itachi got up off of her. He was wrong. It so rarely happened that he was. He didn't lustfully wanted Sakura, didn't want just her body. He wanted more. He wanted to see her covered in powdered sugar again, burning the ramen, making fun of Kisame, smiling with Ichigo, standing up to him, her awkward blush she got for no reason when looking at him. He began to wonder what her favorite color was and realized he wanted her to tell him what it was. He wanted to know what her favorite time of day was, her favorite season, what her favorite flower was, what her family was like, and what she thought of him. He wanted to hug her just for the sake of hugging her, to kiss her to just feel what her lips felt like under his. He wanted to tell her everything about him, explain to her why he had done what he had done, that if he had the choice he wouldn't have killed his family if it had given her pain. He wanted to know if it came down to it, would she choose him or Sasuke. The thought made him angry. All these thoughts made him angry. The pure newness of them all confused him. He sat on the edge of the other bed.

"Itachi?" Sakura whispered.

"Get out." Itachi replied. He couldn't deal with it all right now. He didn't want to see her confused expression, the expression mixed with sadness that he had just done that to her. She didn't deserve to have that happen to her. He couldn't face what he did.

"What?" She asked. He turned around and glared at her.

"I said get out." He said louder. Her eyes grew wider and she scrambled off the bed, running out the door. She turned around the corner, and his head fell into his hands. "Dammit." He whispered under his breath.

He sat there not moving for a couple minutes, when the light turned on and Ichigo stood in the doorway. "What the hell did you do to her, you bastard?" Ichigo yelled, running over and grabbing Itachis collar. Kisame grabbed her around the waist.

"Ichigo!" He whispered. "Stop!"

Itachi pushed Ichigo to the ground, his face unmoving. "What the hell, man?" Kisame frowned, bending down to help Ichigo stand up. Itachi walked quickly out the door.

"Don't walk out on me, you bastard! What did you do??" Ichigo yelled after him. Kisame continued to hold her down.

"Ichigo, calm down. You haven't been with Itachi as long as I have. Itachi looked upset."

"Upset?? He looked like he couldn't give a damn about anything!" She retorted, frowning. "Sakura looked so upset when she ran out of here! She could be anywhere…I'm so worried about her."

"I'm sure Itachi is going to look for her. It'll turn out to be okay." Kisame told her.

"I hope so." Ichigo retorted, grabbing Kisame around the waist. "Because if it doesn't, I'm going to kick Itachi's ass."

-Sakura-

Sakura was sprawled out on the sand, the tide crashing around her every couple seconds. She dug her fingers into the sand, closing her eyes. Her eyes were dry and gritty, from crying and the harsh ocean wind. The sand started to crunch behind her.

"Ichigo?" she asked. She stood up, wiping her eyes. "Don't worry about me I'm-" she turned around to face Itachi. She shook her head quickly, throwing her arms out in front of her. "Please, Itachi, I-"

Itachi grabbed her arms and pulled her to him, wrapping her arms around his body; he pulled her close to him and held her there. Sakura, surprised, didn't know what to do with her arms. Her face was right at his chest. She smelled him again. He moved his face to where his lips were touching her ear.

"I'm sorry."

Itachi Uchiha was telling her that he was sorry. She hugged him back, half collapsing on him and began to cry again. When she began to cry, Itachi held her tighter. He had never been this open with anyone, never so…vulnerable.

Her sobbing soon subsided. She backed away, looking up at his face. He bent down, his lips gently, hesitantly touching hers. The way his lips gently moved against hers was almost an apology in itself. She closed her eyes and kissed him back. He pulled away, looking away from her. It was short and sweet. Itachi guessed she was fine now because she kissed him back.

Unexpectedly, Sakura focused a small amount of chakra in her hand and slapped him in the face. Itachi grabbed his cheek. The only woman who had ever hit him in his life had been his mother.

"Asshole." Sakura said with a serious expression on her face. He looked at her angrily, opening his mouth to reprimand her for her action, but when he saw her face he saw she was smiling. He sighed loudly, deciding to let this one go.

"If you ever do that again…" he began.

"I should be the one saying that. You were close to raping me…" she trailed off, looking away.

"I said I was sorry." Itachi said, his tone having an edge of exasperation.

"Well prove that you are." Sakura told him, and she turned toward the hotel and started walking. She wasn't sure what she was going to tell Ichigo when she got in the hotel, but for some reason she didn't really care either.

Itachi stared after her as she walked off. Sakura just blew him off. So she hadn't forgiven him yet. After he had put himself out there, it seemed she hadn't even taken that into account. He sighed and walked after her, his long strides catching up to hers.

"I'm not sure what you mean when you say to prove that I'm sorry. What are you expecting me to do?" Itachi asked, clearly not happy with the idea of the conversation being left off at that checkpoint.

"Prove that you're sorry. Stop acting like you're the shit all the time, especially around me. You have such a superiority complex it's annoying." She told him, quickening her pace. He easily matched it.

Even though she was really beginning to piss him off, Itachi realized that maybe one of the reasons he enjoyed being around Sakura was because she did tell him off and she did reprimand him for having a 'superiority complex'. He decided not to respond to her speech.

Judging by the door of 305 still being open, they guessed Kisame and Ichigo were in there. Sakura looked at Itachi, who went ahead and opened 304 as quietly as possible. The two walked in and shut the door. Sakuras heart started to beat faster. Even though it appeared as if he wouldn't do anything to her for speaking back to him, she was in a room alone with Itachi again. And after what happened a couple minutes ago, she wasn't sure she was that comfortable with it.

"I won't do anything to you." Itachi told her, as if reading her mind. "I promise." Sakura nodded and crawled into bed. Itachi sat on the edge of the other bed, facing away from her again. After all the intimate moments they just had, the two of them going back to not talking to each other sent a pang of disappointment through Sakura.

"Itachi?" she voiced, looking in his direction. He looked back at her and she patted the pillow next to her. He hesitated, and then slipped laid down next to her, without getting under the sheets or anything. Sakura got up and turned the lights off and then snuggled back under the sheets, surprised to find Itachi had gotten under there when she had gotten up.

She closed her eyes, preparing to sleep when Itachi started talking. "What's your favorite color?" he asked.

"What?" she asked a little confused. Itachi asking her such a childish question made her smile.

"Nevermind," he said and didn't say another word. It was quiet, and Itachi thought Sakura had gone to sleep.

"Red." Sakura whispered, and they both fell asleep.

**So I've been like, half asleep while writing this chapter so I might wake up in the morning and be like 'WHAT THE HELL' and delete it haha. But seriously give me constructive criticism. :) So thank you to all the readers who actually reviewed for me! It really encourages me to keep writing the chapters! I'm pretty sure Itachi is OOC but I've decided I could really care less. This is a fanfic, I'm not writing the next chapter for Masashi Kishimoto. :P So anyways here are some links to pictures that I thought were good cosplays of the characters. If you guys find anymore that you think are good and would like to share with me I'd love that :) Also I thought it'd be cool to have a contest or something where you guys draw a scene from the story and then i see which one I like the best. Gay or not? Haha again I'm tired so don't hateee…'preciatee. God I'm high ahah ok byee**

**moonlitXkunoichi **

Kisame and Itachi:

shiaryuzaki.files./2007/12/sakura-cosplay.png

Another good Itachi one :)

www.anda.ca/fotos/2008/03/181966.jpg

Sakura:

farm1.static./113/313310360f999ea71d6m.jpg

Ichigo:

media./PicPlayGallery/100129 AMcosplaybleach08.jpg


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

Sakura woke up to insane beating on the door of the hotel room. She sat up quickly, looking around her. Itachi was lying next to her, not having moved an inch. He sat up as well, a frown on his face. Sakura leapt up off the bed and looked through the peep hole of the door.

"It's Ichigo…" Sakura mouthed towards Itachi and he shrugged, getting up and going into the restroom. She heard the water turn on in the shower and she sighed. _Thanks for leaving me alone on this, boo…_ She looked through the peep hole again and Ichigo looked angry. She started banging on the door again, and Sakura swore some of the wood on the other side splintered. She opened it quickly.

"Sakura!! Where the hell were you last night?" Ichigo said, storming into the room. "What happened to you? Are you okay?" Ichigo said, pacing around her.

"Yes, Ichigo, I'm fine." Sakura attempted to comfort her. Ichigo stopped pacing and hugged her.

"You know you're the only one I truly trust out here, Sakura. If anything happened to you…" Ichigo trailed off. Sakura smiled at her. Ichigo truly was a good friend. The beating of the water against the shower walls became more evident after Ichigo stopped talking and Ichigo looked towards the bathroom.

"Is he in there??" Ichigo said, gaping at Sakura. Sakura nodded. "You _slept_ together _alone_ in here all night??" Ichigo said and Sakura nodded again, a bit more guiltily. "Oh my god you guys had sex last night!!" Ichigo gasped, her eyes wide.

"What? Oh my god, Ichigo, no!" Sakura said, holding her hands up defensively. "And what about you?? You were in the room next door with _Kisame_ all night long what were you guys up to? Hm?" She retorted, and this time Ichigo threw her hands up.

"Okay, okay…touché…" Ichigo said, blushing. The water in the restroom stopped. "Oh when that boy gets out I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. I know you say you're okay but that boy did something and he's going to pay for it…" Ichigo said, beginning to walk over to the restroom door.

"Ichigo, no!" Sakura whispered loudly, grabbing her arm. "Everything's fine now, okay! Stop!"

The door to the restroom opened and Ichigo stopped, and Sakura's mouth began gaping open. Itachi walked out with just a towel around his waist. He didn't even look at the two girls as he walked over to a bag and started rummaging around in it. Sakura couldn't take her eyes off the water still glistening on his muscles and the way his wet hair clung to his beautiful face. She noticed Ichigo watching too and frowned, elbowing her. Ichigo woke up from her trance and a surprised expression sprung up on her face.

"Oh…oh! Wow, Itachi would you mind walking around with some clothes on?" Ichigo said, covering her eyes and turning around. Sakura watched Itachi smirk, and she turned around as well.

"Don't bother turning around Sakura it's not like you haven't seen me naked before." Itachi said, and Sakura blushed a million shades of red. Ichigo looked at her, a huge grin on her face and Sakura's blush turned hot. She turned around on her heel and glared at him. He did know that she had seen him bathing before and he hadn't said anything! The moment seemed so long ago.

"Itachi! Oh my god!" She turned back around as quickly as she had before, because Itachi had dropped his towel to get more clothes on. Itachi simply smirked behind her.

"What the hell?" a voice rang out and everyone looked at the door to see Kisame standing there. It was Ichigo's turn to become bright red as she began walking towards the door and pulled Kisame out, shutting the door behind her.

A pair of arms encircled Sakura from behind and Itachi's voice whispered in her ear. "You thought I didn't know you saw me taking a bath that one time?" he said and Sakura could tell he was smiling by the tone of his voice.

"Y-yes! You didn't say anything to convince me otherwise. This is so embarrassing…" she said, putting her face in her hands again. Itachi turned her around, a smug look on his face as he pulled her hands away from her face, bending down to where his lips were hovering next to her ear.

"So you've seen me twice and I've only seen you naked once…" Itachi whispered and Sakura's face burned red. "Maybe we should even the score…" He continued, and Sakura pushed him away.

"Hell no!" she said, but she was smiling. "I'd like to see you try…" she told him, crossing her arm. Itachi lunged at her, grabbing the bottom of her pajama top. Sakura shrieked and began laughing, running towards the bathroom. She opened the door, planning to go inside and lock the door behind her, but Itachi appeared before her in the bathroom. Sakura yelled out in surprise and Itachi grinned as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Sakura kissed him back, attempting to speak.

"Itachi…I have…to take…a shower…" she told him between breaths. Itachi sighed, lightly pushing her away and walked out the door. She rolled her eyes, and locked the door behind her just in case.

After her shower Sakura walked into the room in her towel, looking all around the room before running over and slipping into the underclothes then the Akatsuki robes. They smelled slightly of her but more of Itachi.

"What are you doing?" Itachi's deep voice resonated behind her. Sakura yelped and turned around.

"Nothing…" she replied. "How long have you been standing there?" He smiled.

"Let's just say the score is even again." He smirked, and Sakura's mouth dropped.

"Itachi!" she said, and threw the alarm clock at him.

The gang of four began their trek to Sakura didn't know where when everyone had finished their breakfast. Ichigo was the most disappointed to go, saying they should have just stayed there the whole entire time. Itachi seemed to be irritated with Ichigo most of the time, partly because she complained and partly because she took up all of Sakura's time. Even though their relationship was still on the down low, Ichigo did nothing but talk to and distract Sakura to the point that Sakura hardly glanced or smiled at Itachi the whole journey.

Ichigo was talking to Sakura about some ex-boyfriend of hers (Kisame kept looking back at them uncomfortably and irritated) and Sakura was attempting as best she could to pay attention when Itachi stopped. Kisame stopped with him and began to sniff the air. "The Kyuubi has been here." Kisame finally said, and Sakura's heart skipped a beat.

"Naruto?" Ichigo wondered allowed and Sakura nodded, knowing that if she spoke her voice would probably break.

"He must have passed right by the resort and traveled ahead of us." Kisame concluded, shaking his head. "What a dumbass. Is he just blindly walking around on no trail now?" Sakura glared at him.

"Don't talk about him like that." Sakura said angrily. Itachi looked at her with an odd expression on his face that went unnoticed by Sakura, who avoided looking at his face. "He's probably discovered that he isn't following a trail and has doubled back. He probably would be alone either. As injured as he was he would have gone back to the village, most likely told Tsunade and they gathered a team. Most likely Shikamaru is in the group, because he did the best with his brains when tracking Sasuke." Sakura thought, and Ichigo looked at her strangely.

"You concluded all that from discovering Naruto was looking for you? You're smart, Sakura-chan." Ichigo replied.

"They're here." Itachi said tonelessly, followed by the sound of the unsheathing of a Kunai. Like clockwork, a few seconds later Naruto burst through the underbrush into the clear area the four were standing, followed by Sai, Shikamaru, and Choji.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, beginning to run over to her but Itachi stepped in his way. "Move away from her, teme!" he yelled, calling forth his shadow clones. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

"Naruto!" Shikamaru reprimanded, shaking his head. "He's going to get us killed…"

As Naruto's shadow clones began to attack Itachi, Naruto ran over to Sakura. "Naruto!" she exclaimed, and Naruto tackled her, wrapping his arms around her.

"I was so worried about you, Sakura…" He whispered. Sakura's eyes filled with tears. Naruto was confusing her feelings so much right now. She wanted to follow him home so badly right now, but she would die if she left Itachi, who would never be accepted into Konoha again. She enveloped her arms around him too. Naruto suddenly jumped as Itachi appeared behind him to attack, and it missed him by inches. When they landed, he let go of her, turning around to face Itachi. Kisame was currently in a battle with Choji, and Shikamaru was actually fighting with Ichigo, who seemed angry about him attacking Kisame. Sai walked up to stand next to Naruto.

The air was tense as the three men stared at each other, no one moving. Sai began to get a scroll out at the same time two shadow clones appeared next to Naruto. Sakura was familiar with that move. Naruto was going to use Rasengan on Itachi!

"Rase-" Naruto began and Sakura panicked, running out in front of Itachi.

"No, Naruto stop!" she cried, and Naruto stopped, disappointment written all over his face. Sai looked slightly angry. "You can't…you can't hurt him. Please." She whispered at the end. Naruto shook his head.

"What are you doing, Sakura?" Naruto asked her, his arms falling limply to his sides.

"What the hell, Sakura?" Sai was less gentle. "Naruto actually grew some balls to help you and you've probably been fucking this guy this whole time." Secures head fell, tears pooling at her eyes, some beginning to drip down her face.

"I have not." Sakura said, looking up at him. "But the past few weeks…it's just…it's changed me. Please, Naruto you have to understand." She begged, walking over and taking Naruto's hands. He wouldn't look at her. How she wished he would. She felt so guilty right now. So guilty for loving Itachi. Not only was she betraying Naruto and her friends, she was betraying her whole village. "I'm so sorry, Naruto…So sorry…" her voice cracked, and Naruto pulled his hand out of her grip.

"It's you." Naruto said, brushing past Sakura. "You've done something to make her think like this; what have you done??" Naruto said blindly, calling on his shadow Justus to attack again. Sakura hugged herself. What had she done? This wasn't supposed to happen. She shouldn't have to choose between lives like this. Why couldn't her life in Konoha amalgamate with her life with Itachi?

Itachi opened his eyes wider to look at Naruto. "Mangekyou Sharin-" Itachi couldn't do that to Naruto.

"Don't look in his eyes, Naruto!" she yelled and Naruto looked away from his face, slipping behind Itachi. Naruto couldn't attack Itachi…this was horrible! Sakura couldn't choose which man she wanted hurt the least.

The sound of splintering trees resounded from the fight with Kisame, and Sakura watched Choji being thrown through the trees, Ichigo wounded and panting in what looked like Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation. Her two lives were colliding.

Itachi took the moment everyone was looking at the noise to slam Naruto to the ground. He rushed and grabbed Sakura with inhuman speed, making a whistling noise at Kisame who nodded. Kisame's nod was the last thing Sakura say before everything became blurry with Itachi's speed. Where they were going Sakura wasn't sure.

Itachi ran for what seemed like hours. Finally they stopped, and Sakura was thrown to the ground. She felt nauseous as she looked at Itachi's angry face. She stayed on the ground, not bothering to get up.

"Itachi…" she whispered, but Itachi continued to just stare at her. "I'm sorry. I just can't see him get hurt." Itachi just gave her a dirty look and turned to walk away. "Itachi! You have to understand he's all I had! He's all I had after Sasuke left! Left to get stronger to defeat you! You can't get mad at me for this, Itachi!"

"Don't blame this on me, Sakura." Itachi said listlessly. She winced at his voice. "You chose him out there."

"No, I didn't. I chose both of you. Do you know how hard it was to see you two fighting like that out there? I didn't Naruto to get hurt, but more ultimately I didn't want you to get hurt either! Because I l-" Sakura stopped. She had almost told Itachi that she loved him. She did, she did love Itachi. But telling him that was something different. Itachi walked closer to her.

"Because you what?" he asked. Sakura stood up, but didn't look at him.

"Nothing. Never mind." She told him. He walked up to where he was right in front of her. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

"I love you." Itachi whispered. Sakura looked at him, her eyes widening slightly and Itachi leaned over and kissed her. Sakura gently kissed him back, her eyes prickling with tears.

"I love you too." She whispered back to him, her lips kissing his bottom lips again. With those four words she decided which life she wanted, which life she would most likely live the rest of her years. She chose the one with Itachi.

**Nooo this isn't the end. :) Yes, as much as it does sound like an ending it's not the ending of this part or anything. You know what's funny? I published this a while ago and now there's actually a song called damaged, and if you listen to it, it really does relate to this fanfic! I love it, hahaha. So yeah check it out and look it up it's amazing. I doubt I'll find anything with the name Betraying Sasuke, however or The Apostasy (which **_**is**_** my new fanfic that I would loveee you guys to just at least glimpse at :)) So I hope you liked this chapter, read/review, constructive criticism is encouraged, though both are not necessary. Again, it does encourage me. Thanks guys, see you in the next chapter :)**

**moonlitXkunoichi**


	8. Chapter 8

Itachi slid her Akatsuki cloak off quickly, and played with the bottom of Sakura's blouse, nibbling on her bottom lip. She sighed a bit and began unbuttoning the top button of his Akatsuki cloak. He pushed up her shirt a bit. She stepped back, reaching her hands up like a small child's, smiling slyly. Itachi smirked and grabbed the bottom of her shirt and tugging it up over her head. Sakura blushed; this wasn't the first time he would see her, but it was still slightly embarrassing. She took off her supply belt, and she took her thumbs, sliding her skirt down her legs.

"Uh…guys?" Ichigo's voice resounded. Sakura screamed slightly, and Itachi grabbed her cloak off the ground, wrapping it around her. "What are you doing?"

"Ichigo!" Sakura yelled, a furiously red blush gracing her face. Kisame was staring at them intently, first at Sakura and then Itachi. "N-nothing is going on!"

"Well thanks for leaving us back there! Did you think we weren't going to follow you back?" Kisame yelled. Sakura looked up at Itachi. He twitched slightly, a look of anger on his face.

"Can no one get privacy around here at all?" Sakura asked, attempting to redress while keeping under the cloak.

"No, you can't, as a matter of fact." Ichigo said. "What did you need privacy for anyway, Sakura?" Ichigo continued, a smug look on her face.

"No-nothing!" Sakura gasped, finally redressed. Itachi looked at her, irritated at the interruption.

"We'll finish this later." He said gruffly, turning around. Sakura blushed more. "We are clearly being followed by Konoha nins. I suggest we stay undercover from now on."

"We should probably stay at Deidera's for a while. They have a hide out not far from here." Kisame informed them. Itachi nodded and began to walk. Sakura followed quietly behind, a flush still on her face; she avoided Ichigo's all-knowing eyes.

Sakura got lost in her thoughts. _If Ichigo and Kisame hadn't walked in, how far would Itachi and I have gotten?_ Sakura began to have second thoughts. _I've never done anything like this before. I've dreamt of it before but it was always with…Sasuke._ The image of Sasuke, eyes gleaming and covered in blood flashed in her mind. _But…Itachi loves me, right? If it's with someone I love then it's okay. I need to let go of Sasuke. I can't be caught up with him. If he loved me he wouldn't have left me._ Guilt began to spread through Sakura. Even after all this time, she was still thinking of Sasuke.

****

Itachi stopped in the middle of a circle of trees. Performing hand signs and muttering something inaudible to Sakura, a hole appeared in the roots of the biggest tree. Itachi began walking down the steep dirt hill. Sakura followed him down. It was so steep she kept slipping. Itachi sighed, turned around and wrapped his arm around her waist, taking her opposite hand. Sakura blushed. It was so embarrassing, having someone help you _walk_. She could hear Ichigo snickering behind her, Kisame out right laughing. She turned around glared at him.

At the bottom of the drop was a wooden door. As Itachi opened the door, the light at the top of the tunnel disappeared. Sakura walked through the door and smiled. This underground was too……cute to be an Akatsuki hideout. Of course, this was Deidera she was talking about. A fire was blazing in a fireplace, but oddly no smoke was coming from it. The room was full of cozy couches and arm chairs. A hallway led to different rooms, and a kitchen was slightly behind them in a different room.

"Yes! Sake!" Kisame called, pulling out a jug of sake from the pantry.

"POCKY!" Yelled Ichigo, clearly excited at the chocolate covered biscuits. Sakura laughed at the immaturity of her friend.

"Hey, anyone up for some sake pong?" Kisame asked, a huge grin on his face like he was already tipsy. Ichigo raised her hand, nodding her head crazily. If she hadn't stuck half the box of Pocky in her mouth, she might have been able to respond with words. Sakura shrugged.

"I don't know guys…" she said uncertainly. She looked up at Itachi who smirked.

"Coward. You don't want to play because you know I'll win." Itachi told her. Sakura's mouth opened slightly. She blinked a couple times then smiled. She got in his face.

"Fine, Uchiha, Itachi. You're on. But just to warn you, I can hold my liquor well."

****

"OH MY GOD!!! LOOK AT MY HANDS!" Yelled Sakura, staring at her hands with wide eyes. "They're HUGE!" Ichigo laughed and grabbed her sake, swishing it down.

"NO, NO! You're FOREHEAD is HUGE." Kisame said, pointing accusingly. Sakura grabbed her forehead.

"Oh NO! Ichigo, what am I going to do??" Sakura said, slouching on her friend. Ichigo shrugged and downed another glass. Sakura poured another glass but Itachi took the jug from her.

"I think that's enough."

"But…Itachi…" Sakura pouted. "I want it…" she started grabbing it. Itachi held it far away from Sakura, who fell in his lap. He set the jug on the table and picked her up, slinging her on his shoulder.

"We're going to bed." Itachi said, starting to walk away.

"OKAY, bye Sakura I'll see you tomorrow!" Itachi yelled, waving even when Itachi and Sakura were out of sight.

Sakura groaned. "Itachi, put me down…" Itachi walked over to the bed and threw her down on it. She moaned a little bit. Her stomach was churning. She was fuzzy and warm but she knew if she got in the wrong position she'd be seeing those Pocky sticks again.

Itachi sat on the edge of the bed, looking down on her. Sakura rolled over on her side. She stared at his face. The fake window had a light behind it that cast off an ethereal glow like moonlight. It made Itachi's face glow too, pale and beautiful. His eyes, red as always were impossible to read. His hair looked so shiny and perfect. Sakura wanted to know what it looked like when it was down, curving to the beautiful contours of Itachi's face.

Sakura sat up and crawled over to him, so they were just inches apart. She reached behind his head and tugged out his hair tie. His hair cascaded down. She ran her hand through it. It was silky and her hair just glided in it. She smiled at him. The corners of his mouth tugged upwards but it wasn't a full-fledged smile. His lips were so smooth looking and so perfectly shaped. Sakura inched closer to his face.

Her lips finally pressed onto his, and it was like she set Itachi off. He leaned forward, pushing Sakura to where she was sprawled on his bed. Itachi's hand was behind her head, his other beneath her back. She smiled into his lips. They tasted so good against her own. He nibbled on her lip and she moaned a bit, grabbing the back of his head and entangling her fingers into his silken locks.

Itachi's tongue delved into her mouth and she sighed, her tongue tussling with his. Itachi's hands roamed to her sides, feeling up and down them. Sakura broke away for air and then moved his hair so she could kiss his smooth neck. He moaned a bit, making Sakura smile a bit. She kissed down his neck and onto his shoulder, unbuttoning his cloak. He took it off and she pulled his shirt up. Itachi was so well built; she could see the muscles moving underneath his skin as he moved. His skin was even paler on his body but it was beautiful…Sakura ran her hand up his arms; the light touches of her fingertips made goosebumps rise on Itachi's skin.

He started to mess with the buttons on the side of her shirt, but finding them too difficult he finally just ripped it off, the buttons flying off and the shirt landed on the floor.

Itachi being so rough and so gentle at the same time scared and excited Sakura at the same time. She wanted to be closer to Itachi. Even touching him wasn't enough. He began kissing her neck and she hugged him tightly to her. Sakura began tugging and rustling on the button of Itachi's pants. Itachi suddenly stopped and with such speed Sakura couldn't see him, he grabbed her hands.

He looked into her eyes and then looked away. His hands, still holding hers, dropped to the bed. "Itachi?" Sakura whispered. "What's wrong?"

"Sakura…I can't." he told her, sighing.

"But…why…I thought…" she stammered.

"I just can't!" he sighed, and then grabbed her chin, lifting it upwards. "Sakura, I can't take advantage of you. You are too drunk to know what you're doing. If we do anything…I want it to be because you want to. I want you to remember this. I want you to-"

Sakura grabbed his face. "Itachi…I know exactly what I'm doing. I love you, Uchiha Itachi. I will forever remember this moment." She closed her eyes and kissed him again.

**Wooo it's getting hot up in here. (: Sooooo I know what a horrible place to end but we all know what this is leading to. So if I do a lemon it will probably be the next chapter and that's all the next chapter will be. If I do it will probably be entitled "chapter 8 part 2" or something to that extent. Also, let me know if you guys even want a lemon, okay? Leave reviews, tell me what you think. Adios**


	9. Chapter 8, Part Two

**Warning: Reader feedback requested a lemon. The following continuance of chapter eight of Damaged IS a Lemon. If you are uncomfortable with Lemon material or don't want to read this, skip this chapter. Chapter Nine should be up shortly following this one. **

Itachi was holding back; Sakura could tell. Sakura ran her fingers back through his hair, pulling him deeper into the kiss. He was going to do this and he was going to like it, damn it. Itachi's breath became shallower. He leaned into Sakura and she fell down on the bed again. Itachi kissed down Sakura's neck; he obviously didn't want to bother with the fasteners of her bra and he tore it off, throwing it to the side.

Itachi's warm hand cupped Sakura's breast, gently teasing her nipple while gently sucking and kissing her neck and shoulder. A heated blush graced Sakura's face. Something kept nagging her in the pit of her stomach, but when Itachi looked up at her, his eyes boring into her own, the feeling disappeared and was replaced by a warm fluttering.

Itachi's eyes were still connected to hers as he slid farther down, grabbing her skirt and underwear and pulled them down, throwing them to the side. Sakura blushed deeper as her moist mound was exposed. Itachi slid her legs apart; starting at her knees, he gently kissed down her thigh, stopping right before her warmth. Sakura gasped as his tongue lightly flecked her clit. Her hips bucked and Itachi grinned, making the flush on Sakura's face even hotter.

Itachi licked her clit slowly at first, rolling his tongue around, making Sakura's breath shallow as her body built up and prepared for her climax. He began sucking on her clit, continuing to run his tongue up and down what he could reach. Taking two fingers, he hooked them upward to touch the top of her walls. Sakura sucked in, her fists grabbing the sheets, entwining the fabric in between her fingers.

"Oh my god." She moaned. She threw her head back and her back arched as huge waves of pleasure wracked her body, her walls contracting around Itachi's fingers. Goosebumps rose on her skin; her toes curled and she was writhing her arms so much the sheets on the bed ripped. A loud groan escaped from her lips as the final wave left her, and she collapsed back on the bed, a sigh escaping from her lips. Itachi came back up to her face, wiping the hair from her eyes, tucking it behind her ear. She smiled up at him, kissing him once more.

Sakura finished unbuttoning his pants, sliding them down Itachi's legs. His manhood spring from the material, glistening. Itachi leaned above her once more, his hair falling down, a gentle curtain tickling her face. Itachi positioned himself in front of her warmth. Sakura wrapped her arms around Itachi's neck, closing her eyes shut.

"I love you, Sakura." Itachi whispered as he slid into her tight opening. Pain seared through Sakura's lower region; tears gathered on the corners of her eyes. Itachi moaned as he slowly pulled out of her, pushing back in, being so gentle in handling her. A small groan escaped passed Sakura's lips as he began picking up speed. They were both panting, small beads of sweat forming on Sakura's forehead as he sweetly ravaged her body.

Itachi quickly rolled over, pulling Sakura up on top of him. Sakura began moving her hips up and down, his manhood fitting perfectly in her. She felt so full, so close to Itachi. She began bouncing up and down, her head thrown back slightly, moans coming from her mouth, getting more frequent and louder with ever luscious plunge of him in her. Itachi finally came, hot liquid filling Sakura's cavity. "Oh, God, Sakura." Itachi gasped as his back arched a bit.

Sakura came shortly after, stars forming behind her eyelids at her second climax. She finally collapsed on top of him, him still inside of her but it didn't matter. Her cheek rested on his chest, which was heaving but slowing down as Itachi's breathing began to return to normal. Sakura was so tired and so deliciously sore, she didn't want to move. Itachi finally picked her up. Sakura moaned as he left her.

Itachi sat up, leaning against the head rest. He pulled Sakura up so her head was resting on his chest, her arms in a gentle hug around his torso. She snuggled up into his chest; she breathed in his smell, listening to the gentle drumming of his heart, and loving the way her head fell up and down with every breath he took.

Itachi kissed her forehead, his hand tickling her back. The gentle strokes of his fingers along her spine and sides sent shivers up and down her body, making goosebumps rise up on her skin. Sakura's eyes began to grow heavier and heavier the more comfortable she became. She felt so warm, so amazingly safe in Itachi's arms she couldn't think of anything else but the closeness of his skin on hers.

"Sakura." Itachi muttered.

"Hm?" Sakura sounded quietly. Her head was getting fuzzier as sleep overtook her.

"Will you stay with me forever?" Itachi asked, tucking her bangs behind her ear so he could look at her peaceful face, her mouth that was slightly parted.

"Yes." Sakura replied before finally falling asleep. Itachi stayed awake, watching her serene figure breathing quietly, her chest rising and falling against his own. He kissed her forehead again before falling asleep himself.

**Woot, haha. I'm SO sorry if that totally sucked. This was my first lemon EVER. I'm sure I might improve with time…(: Anyway, comments are very much appreciated but not needed since this was mostly smut and for fun purposes. Thanks for reading (:**


	10. Chapter 9

***Edited Chapter. Because of recent reviews and my own rereading of the crap that was the last chapter nine, I've decided to rewrite the last crappy chapter. I know a lot of it is the same but I did add/delete many things throughout the story so if it isn't too much of a hassle, you should read the whole thing….hah. on to the new/improved chapter nine!!!!**

Sakura woke up, her eyes adjusting from the "sunlight" shining in from the display window. She sat up quickly, the spots finally clearing from her eyes and she looked around.

The sheets were ripped up, straggles of thread barely holding the pieces of cloth together. Sakura's shirt was on the ground next to two Akatsuki cloaks and her skirt. She blushed as memories from last night came flooding into her mind. Neither Itachi nor his clothes were anywhere to be found.

Sakura groaned and dug her head into the pillow. She felt kind of sick to her stomach. What a terrible mistake. Itachi had left her. She was his quick lay and she knew it. He left her like he left and betrayed Konoha. There was no way that Itachi, the killer of a whole clan of Uchiha's, was ever capable of having feelings for her, a weak kunoichi who let her feelings best her reasoning. _I am so stupid._ She thought, tears forming that were too quick for her to brush away.

What a predicament Sakura had gotten herself into. Not only herself, but Ichigo too. Did Ichigo know that Kisame was probably using her too? Or maybe this was just happening to Sakura. Of course; Kisame probably _did_ like Ichigo. Then again, Kisame wasn't a cold heartless killer like Itachi was, either. A familiar feeling of hatred welled up inside Sakura that she hadn't felt in a long time but she welcomed it.

What was she supposed to do now? What would happen when she walked out of this room? She couldn't ever look at Itachi in the same way again. Uchiha Itachi, the most notorious person perhaps ever in the history of Konoha had taken her virginity and now probably would never talk to her again. Now that she was so completely his, would he dispose of her? Sakura's stomach sunk. She'd forgotten what a total complete tool she was. She was bait for the Kyuubi. And now, apparently, a whore.

Sakura sat up again at the sound of the door opening. It swung open torturously slow. Itachi was then standing there in the doorway, a steaming cup in his hand. His hair was still down, and he wasn't wearing anything but his pants. Sakura felt herself holding her breath as he stood there, in all his glory with his standard poker face on, his pale skin contrasting so wonderfully with his ebony hair and dark clothes.

"I thought…you'd want some coffee or something if your head was hurting." He said, closing the door. As soon as the door closed and he turned around, his blank face changed to a sheepish expression that Sakura had never seen before. Sakura leapt off the bed and ran over to him, throwing her arms around his neck. She didn't care that fresh tears were streaming down her face.

"What? Is everything okay?" Itachi asked, calmly placing the cup on the chest of drawers, yet with softly shaking hands. He wrapped his arms around her waist. He sounded…worried. Sakura didn't say anything just nodded into his chest. She was feeling so completely foolish now. She had just been worrying for nothing. She jumped to conclusions as always, judging Itachi without a thought. A small, muffled laugh escaped her lips. He had brought her coffee. In case she had a hangover headache. What a completely sweet and un-Uchiha thing to do. _Uchiha…_she thought, and with it she suddenly understood. For years, she blamed Itachi for ruining her relationship with Sasuke, but Sasuke now had ruined her relationship with Itachi. Because Sasuke left her, she realized she had become such an untrusting person. _Who do I truly trust? I haven't even thought of it before. _Itachi interrupted her thoughts.

"Are you…upset about last night?" Itachi began; his voice was deep and serious as always, never conveying feelings although for him he was expressing so much. "I'm sorry, I tried to stop. I'm sorry I took advantage of you Sakura…"

Sakura shook her head and looked up at him. "No…you just scared me. I thought you just left me and that…" she trailed off, shaking her head, flicking the tears from her cheeks. "Nevermind." She smiled. "It's silly."

Itachi's face turned stony again. He cupped Sakura's face, staring intently into her eyes. Sakura's eyes grew a bit wider as she gaped into his onyx eyes. Itachi wasn't using his Sharingan. Sakura felt a blush creep up at his intense gaze. Somehow his stare seemed more intense without his brilliant scarlet eyes. Here, this man had seen her naked…was seeing her naked still, but she still couldn't _not _react to the way his eyes bore into her own, his concupiscent gaze making her feel as though he could see right into her.

"I'm not the most trustworthy man, Sakura, I know that. I know you have reasons to dislike- to hate me. I was a factor in breaking your heart…in taking away your first love," he began. Why was it so difficult for him to say that? _No…_Sakura wanted to say. _It's not you, it's me. Sasuke damaged me._ "I've betrayed and hurt a lot of people in my life. I wish I could tell you everything. This love I can't explain, I'm not sure why it happened but I'm not going to question it. All my life all I've ever done is push people away, not letting them get to know me. But Sakura, I want you to know me. I so sincerely want to know you- all of you." Itachi paused to give a frustrated sigh. "I'm not good at things like this- but Sakura, if only you knew. I've never, ever cared or worried or _loved_ someone as much as I do you." He finished. Fresh tears ran their course down Sakura's face as she closed her eyes and let Itachi Uchiha kiss her.

The sound of quick knocks ricocheted through the underground home. Itachi's lips pulled quickly away from Sakura's, a kunai instantly in his hand.

"I-" Sakura began to whisper, but Itachi placed his hand over her mouth, his eyes narrowing. His eyes momentarily widened as he activated his Sharingan. He mouthed "stay here" and opened the door. Sakura could see Kisame already out there, making hand motions in Itachi's direction. The light from outside shone down into the main room, shadows beginning to move in the direction of the dim opening. Sakura's breath caught in her throat as she watched the shadows become bigger.

Itachi moved stealthily, throwing kunai and then moving to attack.

"Woah, watch it, eh?" Deidera gasped, dodging the kunai.

"Dammit, Deidera." Kisame muttered angrily. Sakura quickly threw one of the Akatsuki cloaks on and walked out of the room; Deidera smiled at her.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Sakura smiled slightly back, walking up to stand beside Itachi.

"What is that you need, Deidera?" Itachi asked, barely masking irritation in his voice. At this, Deidera's face became stiff with seriousness.

"I came here to discuss-er…something with the two of you." Deidera began difficultly. "I have a message from Madara-sama." At this, Itachi's eyes noticeably narrowed. "It appears that you are-uh-hum…"

"Spill it, already!" Kisame yelled, exasperated. Deidera winced.

"It seems that you are being removed from the Akatsuki." Deidera finally muttered, refusing to look at Itachi.

"W-what?" Sakura whispered. Kisame's eyes got wider before tapering.

"What the hell? You better not be screwing around with us here, you ass." Kisame growled, his arm going behind him to grip his Samehada; he was gripping it so hard his knuckles turned white. Deidera put his arms up defensively.

Sakura looked up at Itachi. His expression was his poker face again, completely smooth with no expression lines giving him away. Sakura frowned a bit. What was he thinking?

"It seems Madara thinks you have become…distracted, Itachi-sama." Deidera explained, looking at Sakura. Sakura felt her stomach sink. _Oh god._

"Dammit, I knew Sakura was a bad idea from the start." Kisame barked, punching the wall. A significantly noticeable indention was left behind.

Sakura hung her head. This was horrible. Itachi was now being given an ultimatum of her or his Akatsuki, the group who took him in when he was no longer a part of Konoha. Sakura's face grew hot as a flush crept up. This was it, the end. Itachi lived for the Akatsuki. He lived to destroy Konoha…to kill her best friend, Naruto. Staying with Itachi meant she was betraying Konoha, but staying with Sakura meant Itachi was betraying Akatsuki by not following through with his duties. Sakura felt panicked. Was their relationship even worth it? They were both giving up so much to be together, struggling through so many things…

"Tell Madara that I accept his termination request." Itachi said, monotone.

"WHAT?" Deidera and Kisame yelled at the same time. "Have you gone insane?" Kisame asked angrily.

"Itachi, please, don't do this." Sakura whispered, grabbing his elbow. "It's okay, you don't have to go to this extreme-" Itachi answered her by taking off his ring, throwing it over to Deidera who caught it reluctantly.

"Itachi, you know what this means. You can't remain in contact with anyone in the Akatsuki." Deidera whispered sternly. Itachi put his arm around Sakura's shoulders, pushing her to go inside the room.

"Itachi-" Sakura began when they were in the room and Itachi had shut the door.

"Pack." Was Itachi's simple retort. Sakura shut her mouth and began dressing in her clothes, grabbing her pack and throwing in random things. She couldn't believe this was happening. Uchiha Itachi was giving up his…his life for her. Itachi took the Akatsuki cloak Sakura was holding uncertainly in her hands and threw it on the floor, along with his.

Itachi walked out of the room, walking defiantly between Kisame and Deidera on the way out of the hide out.

"Itachi!" Kisame yelled after him. "ITACHI!!!"

Sakura ran to catch up with Itachi. He grabbed her arm, hoisting her up on his back and he began to run as quickly as possible. Sakura didn't say a word just let him run, holding on for dear life. Sakura wanted desperately to know what he was thinking at that moment.

Itachi began to slow down, finally stopping in a miniscule clearing. Sakura held her breath as she looked at Itachi. It was strange seeing him without the Akatsuki cloak, standing there in his black pants and simple black, long-sleeved shirt. What should she say? What was there to say? What next?

Sakura walked up to him, watching his body move with the constant rhythm of his breathing. She grabbed his hand, pressed her lips to his cold knuckles. A couple tears escaped down her cheek as she then pressed his hands to her cheek.

Itachi ripped his hands out of hers, grabbing her shoulders and throwing her body against him. He held her there for a while and then let go of her, seizing her chin and pressing his lips on hers. She let him kiss her like that; it was graceful as usual, but there was a frustrated subtly in it. He stopped, stepping away from her.

She watched him carefully, silently.

"Itachi, I—we can't do this anymore." Sakura whispered. Itachi looked up at her words. He opened his mouth to speak but she interrupted him. "Please. I can't take your whole life away from you like this. I can't take the Akatsuki away from you. I love you too much to do that to you."

"Sakura, don't say that. I'm done with them. Now that I've finally found you, nothing is going to get in our way. Do you understand? Don't give me this shit about taking away my life. You are my life now." Itachi said, trying to maintain eye contact with her, but Sakura kept looking at the ground. She was slightly confused. Uchiha's didn't give up their life missions for anything, but Itachi was throwing away his for her.

This was putting a lot of pressure on her to be a freaking amazing lover. _Shit._

"Do you understand?" Itachi asked again, grasping her chin, forcing her to look at him. She nodded, and then leaned in to kiss him gently.

***

Orochimaru smiled. How delightfully opportunistic this situation had become. Kabuto stood in front of him, his head slightly bowed but one couldn't miss the way the corners of his lips curled upwards in a horrifically morbid smile.

_Itachi has fallen for this Kunoichi._ The words repeated over and over in Orochimaru's head. This was too good for words. All that was flashing in his mind were different ways of killing this beautiful girl, to rip out the heart of Uchiha, Itachi. Just the thought of his scarlet eyes made red hot flashes of anger sear through his body. He hated that man-the only one that could ever defeat him. But now Orochimaru had the upper hand.

What more, this was the perfect moment to further use Sasuke. As his malevolent plan formulated in his head, all Orochimaru could do was throw his head back and laugh.

**Akfjaw;eoign;sna;dina;eoifja;igsdvkdiweaeionfgdf THERE. Haha. I read your comments and am so grateful for all the constructive criticism. As I was rereading this I started laughing at the ridiculousness of what I had written. As it was…er…so long ago…(sorry!) I'm not sure of the details but I know at the time I was writing this I was angry. Therefore, I let my emotions out through writing this chapter, and, sadly, through Itachi who, according to the lovely "Not Important" said was a 'lunatic,' with every right to call him so. The next chapter should be out soon, please don't be disenchanted with this story because of my poor judgement of character…literally…lol.**


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Living with just Itachi was definitely a change in pace. When they walked, they weren't running. When they stopped to rest or camp out, it was for days at a time. Life not chasing after Naruto was good for Itachi, Sakura could tell. Living with solely Itachi was a little sad, too. Sakura constantly thought about Konoha, especially her second-mother figure Tsunade and best friend Ino. Not to mention Naruto. She hadn't seen him since the fight between him and Itachi, which was a few weeks ago but felt like years ago.

Their time together was full of paranoia as well. Sakura would probably be in many Bingo Books by now, including Konoha's. If there ever were Anbu around, they'd have to be swiftly avoided. Sakura didn't worry as much, because she had Itachi. Security was one of the greatest things about being with an ex-Akatsuki member/s-class criminal/jutsu prodigy.

Speaking of ex-Akatsuki members, according to Itachi he was the longest living one. Noone left the Akatsuki; you either died a member, or were killed for leaving. Which meant that Sakura and Itachi not only had to worry about Anbu but every member of the Akatsuki—all of Itachi's former friends and companions, and by now, Ichigo.

Now that it was just Sakura and Itachi, Itachi became much more affectionate. It was odd and slightly awkward at first, but Sakura wasn't opposed to it at all. After all, she did leave a whole life behind to be with him, so she was going to get some affection if it killed the man, which she found she wanted to do often. Without breaks from each other, Itachi and Sakura fought a _lot_. Neither of them were ever actually seriously angry with one another; besides, the matter which they fought over was very trivial and childlike. One good thing that Sakura (embarrassingly) discovered about their fighting was the make up sex. Sakura couldn't tell lately if Itachi was really angry with her about things on purpose or not…

"You know, if sex with me is so great we can just do it? Instead of getting angry with each other over stupid things," Sakura joked with a smirk as she and Itachi strolled hand and hand through one of the many small towns they'd passed, exiting the gates and entering the surrounding forest. They'd just ended a tiff over who would pay for their recently drunk coffee. "It can't be healthy…exerting all that anger." He looked over at her with a matching sneer.

"Oh?" was his simple response as he pushed her up against a nearby tree, his hands on either side of her head. "I suppose we could get out all this…frustration in a simpler way?" His lips came crashing down on hers before she could protest. Sakura was quickly consumed in the kiss, loving the feeling of his lips on hers. It was much easier to kiss Itachi when he didn't have that obtrusive Akatsuki cloak on; and much easier to take his other clothes off. Itachi's body pressed harder onto hers, but he still wasn't close enough. She ran a hand through his glossy dark hair, loving that he kept it down all the time, both their forehead protectors abandoned towns ago. Giggles intruded into their utopian moment and she looked over to see children at the gate, watching them. Itachi turned around to look too, slightly annoyed but he stood upright and grabbed Sakura's elbow, leading her back into the forest. Sakura hid her face with one hand; some mothers may have some explaining to do later. But for now…

xxx

"I was thinking, Itachi," Sakura began while looking at their hands intertwined between them. "Maybe we should settle down somewhere. Not have to do so much…walking. Make life a little more normal." Itachi was silent for a while; not really abnormal. He rocked the bench swing a little, glancing over at Sakura. She was still talking, something about a garden. Her lips moved seductively as her hair shifted in the wind. She hadn't cut it in a while, and it was growing past her shoulder blades. He liked it when it was long like this; he could run his hands through it, grab it and yank it playfully when she got too far in front of him, or gently hold it without her noticing so he had something of hers to hold onto.

He didn't want to tell her. Tell her about this disease eating him from the inside out. Tell her that every moment she spent with him would just hurt her more in the end. Tell her than eventually he'd have to leave her to find Sasuke. It tore him up inside to listen to her talk about this future that he knew they could never really have. A home? With them living together? Yes. He knew he'd always secretly wanted such a simple, uncomplicated life. Which is something he couldn't give to Sakura. He wanted so badly to see her happy. A part of him—a small one, he noted—wished he'd never started this with Sakura.

He looked at her again and knew that he didn't mean that. Her gently curving face, her lips bowed in that genuine smile and her eyes. Her eyes made him crazy, always staring into his with such passion, such determination and sometimes, unadulterated love. These past few weeks had been the best moments of his life and he knew he'd never trade them for anything. Sakura was always that one piece he'd felt was missing for a while now. Sakura was that one person he'd only had once, but she was gone. Sakura was his confidante, had come to be his best friend and someone he ultimately couldn't imagine living his life without. Always fighting, her gentle yet firm punches to his arm, her angry looks when he went too far. He really was abominable. Sakura looked up at him with a smile on her face.

Her smile faltered when she stared into those eyes that had stayed onyx since their time in the tree-house. Sakura had never seen such emotion like this in Itachi's eyes. He looked so incredibly…sad. Sakura turned more towards him.

"Itachi?" she asked and he seemed to snap out of it, the expression was gone. Should she say something? Ask him why he seemed so…emotional? She decided to feign irritance. "Were you even paying attention? I was talking about important things, you know." She crossed her arms, but Itachi grabbed her wrist, forcing her to hold his hand again and put their hands in his lap. "What are you—"

"Let's just sit like this," he said, shrinking further into the swing and pushing it back again. Sakura's expression went flax as she realized they weren't going to talk further about her perfect little home. She looked up into his obsidian eyes, staring mildly ahead. She sighed and her lips coiled into a smile. She laid her head on his shoulder, snuggling further into him. This was fine for now, but once she got his attention again, they _were_ going to talk about her house—their home.

xxx

Sakura shrieked as the cold water splashed up and hit her. She shivered—she was so cold moments ago and now all she wanted was a mug of hot chocolate and a blanket. Itachi was a good blanket option too…

"Be careful, Sakura there are snakes," Itachi told her from the bank of the river. She looked over at him, staring blankly and muttering something about him acting like her father.

"Itachi, come get in!" she called. Itachi didn't answer her and made no move to, either. He leaned against the tree, his hands placed neatly in his lap.

"I'm fine right here." He finally said. Besides, he could better admire her figure (which sported nothing but her underwear) from over here. Sakura grinned maliciously and walked over to the side.

"Well fine then, I'll help you out!" she screamed and splashed water in his direction. A few droplets hit his face but his legs and part of his shirt were soaked. Itachi's eye twitched as he examined his dripping clothes. Sakura caught a glimpse of his face and her smirk disappeared. He looked genuinely pissed off. She pursed her lips and shamefully sunk down in the water to her nose. She didn't even see him move; she was suddenly fully in the water, her head being held down by Itachi's hand. She struggled under the water trying to kick him, hit him anything. He wasn't letting go! Blind panic flew through her body. What was he doing, she was going to drown!

The pressure lessened and she pushed off to get above the surface, gasping for air. Her body unclenched its muscles in relief. Oh, he was going to get it. She turned around, waterlogged, her brow wrinkled and her expression absolutely livid. Itachi found this incredibly funny. He closed his eyes and started laughing. Pretty soon he was bent over, clasping his stomach. Sakura continued to look at him with mouth slightly open. Itachi was laughing…hard. It was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard. Why didn't he let her hear that every day? Sakura's expression transformed into a smile and pretty soon she was laughing too.

A few hours later, both their clothes were hanging to dry above the fire they were sitting beside. Sakura's hot chocolate craving was currently being satisfied. She passed the mug to Itachi, who made sure his lips pressed directly onto where her lips had just been as he drank. Sakura's head was close to his as it rested on his shoulder. He turned his head slightly so he could smell her hair. It smelled like rosewater and sunscreen.

He loved being this close to her. Intimacy wasn't encouraged in the Uchiha household. His mother used to hold him and would constantly give little signs of affection but it was never in front of his father. Having this nearness with Sakura was nice. It was warm and made him feel happy. He wondered why this was always dejected? Sakura whispered something and he noticed how slow her breathing had become. He leaned over to look at her face. Her eyes were closed, her mouth twitching every so often as she slept. He smiled and set the mug down.

Looking around, he spotted a pillow and grabbed it. Where was the other pillow? He spotted it on the other side of the fire. He could get up and retrieve it, but he didn't want to disturb Sakura. He placed the pillow down behind them and lightly shifted their bodies to laying. His head hit the pillow and he guided Sakura's head to where it was resting on the crook of his shoulder. Sakura fidgeted a bit before completely relaxing in his arms. He closed his eyes but it was hard for him to sleep. He now kept thinking about his old life in the Uchiha complex. He missed his mother. He didn't miss his father's high expectations, but he did miss his father—or rather he missed having a father, not his specifically.

He missed Miya. Sakura was not like Miya in any fashion, but sometimes the way Sakura looked at him or the way her hips moved when she walked reminded him of her. Maybe it was a womanly thing.

Miya used to hate him, he knew that much. She hated that he was a child prodigy. She hated everything he represented as a shinobi. She loathed him because everyone in the Uchiha clan held him in the highest regards. Itachi was apathetic towards her for the longest time. There was nothing special about her; she wasn't a shinobi, she didn't have any unique talents and she wasn't strikingly pretty. He couldn't quite recall why or how they had eventually begun talking. But soon, he began to have feelings for her.

He had forgotten many things in the past years, but there were still things about her that were etched into his memory. Her silly grins, her blushes, her shy mannerisms, her soft hands. He remembered those hands touching his face as they wiped the tears away, neither understanding why he was crying. He remembered those hands falling away from his face and her expression as he plunged his katana into her side. They had haunted him for a long time, along with the many other members of his clan he had slaughtered. Leaving his beloved brother behind. The brother who had then left and damaged the beautiful, fragile kunoichi currently sleeping at his side.

He bent his head down and kissed her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open sluggishly. She rubbed her eye and looked up at him. He looked over into her eyes and she didn't say anything to him, just smiled. He continued to gaze at her before hoisting himself on one elbow so he was towering over her. She looked up at him, a little surprised. He leaned down and caught her mouth in his.

Sakura welcomed his kiss. It was so gentle and sweet; not at all rough, demanding and sexy as a lot of their other kisses seemed lately. This kiss had no traces of aggressiveness. She wasn't sure how to respond to this kiss so she gently tugged at his bottom lip. He responded by nipping at hers. Both their breathing roughened as they deepened the kiss. Sakura's face was hot and she was getting lightheaded. Her arms wrapped around his neck and Itachi lifted her a little higher with his arm, his other hand keeping her head up so it could reach his own.

Itachi's hand trailed down her back and found the latch to her bra. Sakura smiled into the kiss. Itachi kissed her lips again, then trailed down to her chin and then kissed up and down her neck. Sakura whimpered, sending Itachi's mind reeling. He loved hearing her make noises, they made him crazy. She shuddered as goose bumps peppered her skin. His kisses made their way to her collarbone, then continued ever downward…

xxx

"Itachi! What is it, where are we?" Sakura asked, feeling around in front of her. Her boots clicked on stone. It smelled like fresh cut grass and flora. Itachi had blindfolded her in the middle of packing and told her to trust him. She said she did, and she was suddenly scooped up into his arms and carried here. Itachi took her shoulders and slowly guided her a little further.

"Are you ready?" He whispered in here, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. She nodded. "Then you can take off the blindfold." She quickly undid the knot in the back and ripped the blindfold off her head. The sun blinded her for a second but after a few blinks, she could see—

"Oh, Itachi…" Sakura whispered. "It's beautiful."

Standing in front of her was it. Her perfect house. It was white with dark blue shutters and a dark blue door. It was two stories, the front bedroom leading out to a balcony. The porch had a swing hanging from the porch roof, right in front of a huge bay window. Sakura could see a chimney and the vines that grew on a whole side of the house, giving it a cottage-y feel. It was everything she had described…he had been listening. Sakura walked up the stone path towards the house, Itachi following her with a quiet smile on his face. She opened the door and walked inside, holding her breath as she did.

The inside was just as perfect as the outside. Rustic furniture occupied the rooms and there was a huge kitchen that she didn't know how to use but just the fact that it was there made it ideal. Sakura turned around to look at Itachi. His hands were down by his sides as he looked at her cautiously for a reaction. She placed her head in her hands and began to sob.

"Sakura…what's wrong? You don't like it?" Itachi asked, grabbing her arm. She tackled him in a hug, shaking her head furiously.

"No…it's perfect," she whispered into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back. She stepped back and wiped the tears off her cheeks. She got a glint in her eye and Itachi eyed her suspiciously. She suddenly jumped on him, grabbing his neck and began frantically kissing his mouth, cheeks and chin—anything she could reach. He grabbed her legs as they wrapped around his waist.

"I guess we're testing out the bedroom first." Itachi joked between kisses. She hit him.

"Don't be vile, you pervert." She reprimanded him as he carried her upstairs.

An hour later they lay on the bed, Sakura facing the window so she could see outside. Itachi faced the window behind her, trailing his long fingers up and down her arm.

"Konoha is a ten minute walk from here." Itachi stated quietly. She turned around, a curious expression on her face.

"Ten minutes? Why so close?" she sat up. "Itachi, isn't that rather dangerous?"

"You don't trust me to have things taken care of? There's a genjutsu around us, don't worry." He said and Sakura relaxed. Of course. Itachi wasn't stupid, she should have known better.

"Oh, I forgot I'm with a shinobi prodigy…" Sakura smiled, getting atop him and kissing him gently. Itachi grinned and tackled her into the bed.

xxx

"I'm back." Itachi's voice resonated throughout the entryway.

"I'm in here!" Sakura called. Itachi followed her voice into the kitchen. She stood in front of the stove, dressed in the new green sundress Itachi had recently bought her and a frilly white apron she _had_ to have last time they went into town. He had the brown paper bag in his arms, bread and lettuce poking out of the top. "I'm sorry, dinner isn't ready yet. I wanted to be done by the time you were home…"

Itachi kissed her cheek. He didn't have the heart to tell her he wasn't sure he could stomach more of her cooking. She'd been experimenting lately and he was pretty sure that the last thing she had cooked had begun to move and if he hadn't eaten it in time it would have gotten up and walked off the table. Tonight's meal looked safe; he could see noodles.

"Ouch!" Sakura gasped as her finger grazed the stove top. Itachi scooped her up around her stomach and rushed her over to the sink, putting the water on cold. He gently took the wrist of her ailing finger and placed it under the running water. Sakura sighed. "I'm so clumsy." Itachi rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Yes you are," he stated and she frowned, lightly elbowing him in the stomach. He was positive he heard a mumbled "jerk."

Sitting around the table, Itachi took his chop sticks in his hand and prepared his stomach to be assaulted. Sakura watched him expectantly, waiting anxiously for his reaction. He took the noodles and sauce, slowly wrapping it around the wood. He took a deep breath and put the concoction in his mouth. His eyes widened in surprise.

"So?" Sakura asked. He nodded.

"It's good." He said around the bite.

"You sound surprised, Itachi…" Sakura growled. She picked up her chopsticks and prodded his arm. "If you don't like my cooking then don't come home." She threatened and he grinned. She put her own food in her mouth and then sputtered. The smell of the food was overwhelming her. What was this feeling…she was nauseous, but it was an inexplicable nausea that she'd never felt before. She clutched her mouth and ran over to the sink, heaving viciously. Itachi was at her side in an instant.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" he asked, worry coloring his face. She hovered over the sink for a few seconds before shakily turning on the faucet and rinsing out her mouth. She stood up, a perplexed look on her face. She looked up at Itachi and then her hand began to glow green. Neither Itachi nor Sakura had used chakra or, for that matter, any jutsus in a very long time. The cool, breezy chakra felt so familiar in Sakura's hand. She scanned her stomach with her hand. There was nothing wrong with her stomach. Her hand slipped and went down further and she gasped. She rested on her lower belly.

"What, what is it?" Itachi asked, concern etching deeper lines on his face. Sakura looked at Itachi. How was she going to tell him this? How was he going to react? Besides that, how was _she_ supposed to react? Her lip quivered as Itachi gazed at her anxiously.

"Itachi…I'm…" her breathing became more shallow. She felt lightheaded. "Itachi, I'm pregnant."

**Woot chapter tennnn! I can't believe I just whipped that out it's been SO long. Well, i've known for a long time that Itachi dies because I read the manga but I just recently watched the anime version and heard "love and truth" sung by Yui and i LOST IT. Like I literally began bawling my eyes out...so sad. ): Anyway, this is a pure fluff chapter just showing some key points and highlights in the relationship over the past months. I'm going to say that they've been together around 5-6 months since Itachi quit Akatsuki. Pretty intense stuff coming up. Just forewarning you, next chapter or the chapter after that will be THE LAST CHAPTER. I must say, i've been writing this story for nearly four years (i know...i'm a horrible updater and i deserve to have my hands cut off because I don't use them anyway...) and I'm actually rather sad that it's going to end soon. I actually started crying when I was writing the paragraphs where Itachi is talking about leaving Sakura...sigh...A huge music inspiration for this chapter were Clair de Lune and Pitter Pat by Erin McCarley (beautiful song...by the end of this story this song will relate HUGELY to this story...prepare the tissues because I am) I'm so sorry that I haven't updated but i'm going to go ahead and focus on finishing Damaged before I work on any other stories. But, have no fear once this story ends you always have the Apostasy! (: I'm thinking of writing a NaruSaku story after this...I have a poll up on my profile so check it out and vote for the pairing you want me to write about! Well, I love you all and hopefully i'll read your reviews soon (hint, hint...hahahah) and hopefully you'll read the next chapter soon...i'm going to try to get as much written as possible because i love you guys. (: -ash**


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